What We Left Behind
by Iya Kari
Summary: Sakura has spent one intimate night with Sasuke. The consequence, an abandoned child... Full summary inside. Rated M really just to be safe. Read and Review.SasuxSaku
1. Prologue

Alright! My second story. Dont get mad at me, this came to me in a dream, literally.

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters

Summary:

Sakura has spent one intimate night with Sasuke. The consequence, a child. Unwanted by either parent its left to be raised in Konoha as Sasuke and Sakura go their separate ways. However, What happens when a festival for all ninjas brings Sasuke and Sakura back to Konoha 13 years later to find that their daughter is the top ninja. Is she cold and heartless or sweet and quirky?

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**What We Left Behind**

**Prologue**

"You're certain? both of you?" The Hokage says hands folded with a stern serious look on her face. Lightening flashed and thunder boomed illuminating the darkness of the office through the window. Both Sasuke and Sakura sat opposite of her, now 17, with a newborn infant flailing its arms in a crib separating them.

"I intend to rebuild my clan, Hokage, but with a worthy woman," Sasuke states in monotone not bothering to look at the child. Sakura nods almost with agreement, but opens her mouth t speak her own answer.

"I cannot stand the thought of raising a child that was fathered by a monster," She urges shooting a dirty look at the raven haired boy.

"Now is not the time to hold a grudge, Sakura," Tsunade says standing to look out the window, "You both played a significant part in this. You can only blame yourself." Sakura immediately bows her head.

"Right, I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," She says staring down at her lap. Tsunade hesitates to answer, but continues to look out the window, staring at the pouring rain. The only thing breaking the silence was the shrill crying of the infant, red faced with tears streaming down its face.

"Can't you make that thing shut up," Sasuke says annoyed. Sakura glares at him.

"Its just a baby, you're scaring it, Sasuke," She says almost defensively. Sasuke crosses his arms, which until now had been folded neatly on his lap.

"It obviously gets its whining from you," He says becoming agitated. Sakura stands up, fists balled.

"And it must have inherited YOUR ugliness," She says ready to fight. Now it's the Hokage that's furious.

"Stop it! Both of you!" She says, voice booming, "Look at you! Calling the child 'it'. You act as if its not even alive!" Sasuke and Sakura stare at the Hokage, surprised by her outbreak. The room was quiet again. Even the child was silenced by the woman's anger. "Anyways," Tsunade says sitting down once more, "Have you told your third teammate of your plans to leave?" Sasuke and Sakura both look down as if the subject saddened them. Tsunade sighs with frustration, "I'm taking that as a no." Sakura decides to speak up first.

"Naruto won't mind," she says, "He knows not to question what I do. I cannot speak for Sasuke, however." Therefore Sasuke decides to speak his opinion.

"He's better off without us. Naruto is meaning to be greater. I cannot do that until I kill my brother and rebuild my clan," he says determined.

Sakura flinches at his words. To hear him mention rebuilding his clan was painful. It meant that he had rejected her. It had been 6 months since it was official. Sasuke had refused to have anything to do with Sakura being pregnant. Sakura finally broke at that moment. You can only push someone so far. From that moment she had begun to hate Sasuke with a passion. She began to see him for what he really was, a monster. The memory still remained vivid in her mind.

_/flashback/_

"_Sasuke, I'm pregnant," Sakura said holding her arms to her chest with a hopeful expression. The dark haired boy simply looked over his shoulder "You have to be kidding me," Sasuke said, suddenly upset with the news, "What do you want me to do about it?" Sakura gasped with disbelief. "Its yours ,Sasuke. You're the father," She said. Sasuke just put his hands in his pockets and began to walk away. "I don't want to be. I'd never live it down if you were the mother of my children," He said getting further away. His words struck her hard. She had fallen to her knees crying. Even the heavens seemed to cry as rain poured from the clouds. She sat in the middle of the road, all alone._

_/end flashback/_

Yet her sadness and sorrow had awakened an undying determination to make him sorry. Make him regret ever saying that to her. That's why she was leaving, to train out in the countryside. And someday she would be strong enough to challenge Sasuke. She'd show him the same pain she had suffered for so long.

Sakura remembered that when the time came, she would have used a kunai to split her own belly just to get the child out. It represented the last bit of love that had been for Sasuke. The love of the old Sakura. The new and improved Sakura would have killed the child if given the chance. The same thing its father deserved.

"Sakura?" Tsunade says awakening the girl from her trance.

"uh, yes Hokage-sama?" She answers finally. The hokage folds her hands before continuing.

"Do you wish a name for the child?" Sakura actually took the time to look down at the infant. She stared for a long time before responding.

"No," She says getting up to leave, "As far as I'm concerned, It can be called garbage." The Hokage flinched at the harshness of her words as Sakura left. Once she was gone Sasuke stood up, preparing to leave as well.

"It is time I continued my path of revenge. Good bye, Hokage," He says leaving, not even acknowledging the child. The Hokage sighs examining the papers on her desk.

"Well," She says, "Looks like the child will go to a new family in town, the Higure's. They're the only ones looking to adopt a child. Its sad that not even Sakura and Sasuke's closest friends were willing to take the child in. Ino wouldn't, neither would Naruto." The hokage was left in silence besides the muffled sobs of the infant who had just been abandoned by its parents. She stood up and walked around her desk to the crib.

_If Sakura were to apologize to anyone. It should be this child, _she thought.

She carefully lifted the child from the crib, cooing softly for its comfort. "Well, You'll need a name so that I can put you in the records. Otherwise you wont exist," She says to the gurgling baby, "Lets see, I could call you Jiko, but then your name would mean 'accident' and I'm not that cruel." She takes the child back to the window. The lightening flashes again revealing the child's face. Raven black meets emerald green. "Your father's hair and your mother's eyes. You have quite a mix of blood, but that makes you unique," She says continuing to speak to the child, "Yes, that's it, your name will mean 'beautiful blood'. Your official name is…Kireichi Uchiha!"

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Ok, I know its very "out there", but still read and review. Let me know whats on your mind. Also as a note, the childs name does mean 'beautiful blood'. I had a handy mini Japanese dictionary nearby and saw Kirei (beautiful, pretty) and chi (blood). I combined them and thus I have her name.

P.S. Im also attempting to make the next chapters longer.


	2. Chapter 1

Ok, Im back with the update. Sorry, I know it took forever. However you have to realize that I have school. Also, Reviews make a big difference in my motivation to type up the chapters. So if you want me to update badly, leave a review. Anyways here's chapter 1.

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Chapter 1

13 years later…

The sun shines down, glimmering on the river. A familiar pink haired heroine sat on the bank, dousing various clothes in the flowing water. Time had been kind to her, as beauty still defined her in every way. She was quietly mumbling to herself, "just a few more." Sakura paused looking up. The sun's intensity forced her to shade her eyes with her hand. "Ah, what a beautiful day it turned out to be!" She says suddenly enthused.

"I don't see the point," a man's voice says, "We have a perfectly good washing machine." Sakura smiled while gathering the wet clothes together in a basket.

"The _point_ is to survive as if nature is your only provision, Maro," she says turning to walk in his direction. Maro, with light blue hair and stunning hazel eyes, smiled slightly.

"That's right," he says, "You and your training. Do me a favor and be careful. I don't want my fiancé getting hurt." Sakura just continues smiling as she walks past him.

"In that case," she says playfully, "Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to marry you." Before she knew it, Sakura was embraced from behind. She could feel Maro's breath on her ear.

"But the great Haruno Sakura does not go back on her word," he says, "Soon to be Nazaki Sakura." Feeling comfortable, Sakura leans against him, allowing his arms to tighten around her.

"I'll be so glad to get rid of that name," she says with a sigh, "It represents the foolish girl I once was."

"Of course," Maro says grabbing the basket of clothes from Sakura, "You're a woman now. And thus, I'm finishing this chore. You need to relax." Sakura allowed him to take the load and watched as he began trekking through the trees back home.

"And that's why I love you," Sakura calls after him, "You see me for what I really am." Maro turns around to smile at her.

"I know," he says, turning to continue on his way. Sakura's smile was so bright that barely the sun could match it. _And he always knows_, she thought. Suddenly her smile turned into a frown. A slightly irritated frown at that.

"But, god, am I old," she says, eyebrow twitching, "Going on thirty and I'm only getting married now! Sometimes I still find myself pretty pathetic." Eventually Sakura let it pass and continued in the same direction as Maro. It was then that she felt it, a mild chakra. "Ahead of me? A ninja? Oh no, Maro!" She gasps picking up speed. Her heart raced every second as she leaped over obstacles. _"If anything has happened to him, I'll kill whoever did it," _Inner Sakura screams. Sakura takes one last leap into the clearing of their house and stops abruptly. Standing there, talking to Maro, is indeed not a threat, but someone she knows. "Eh, Ino-pig?" Sakura says in disbelief.

"Nice to see you too, forehead-girl," Ino says crossing her arms, "Or should I be saying forehead-woman now?" Sakura nearly bursted with laughter. Here they were, thirteen years later, still fighting like normal. Sakura hadn't realized how much she missed it. Maro just stands there confused.

"You know this woman?" He asks curiously. Sakura runs up to hug Ino before answering.

"Careful, You'll make me fall," Ino laughs regaining her balance.

"Maro," Sakura says cheerfully, "This is Ino. She's a ninja and my best friend." Maro watches as the two continue laughing together.

"I see, a ninja like you," He says acting smart, but not knowing anything about them. Except for what Sakura's told him.

"Well," Ino says, "Kind of a ninja now. Shikamaru won't let me do any missions. He thinks I can become pregnant at any moment. He's a real freak about that kind of thing, but I really don't think he understands how babies are made considering…"

"I'm going to leave you two to all your catching up," Maro says wanting to escape the conversation, " I'll be inside, doing the laundry." Sakura smiles as he disappears inside their small house. She could sense his discomfort, he was all together shy when it came to meeting Sakura's acquaintances.

"Anyways, you were saying?" Sakura says turning back to Ino.

"Well considering," Ino continues, " That our first child was a bit of an accident." "An accident?" Sakura says confused.

"Too much to drink on our wedding night," Ino clarifies, "So he has no idea what the hell he did to have us end up with a baby nine months later. We haven't even slept in the same room for 5 months. With him on all his missions, he just comes home late and sleeps on the couch."

"Sounds like you have some issues with your husband," Sakura says after assessing the information, "Which I never knew you got married, nor hooked up with Shikamaru of all people."

"Yeah," Ino sighs in response, " I don't know why I said yes considering his idea of a proposal was trying to kill me with a kunai that said 'Marry Me'." Sakura was shocked by his method.

"_A kunai! That man is freaking insane! Listen to me sister, get out while you can!" _Inner Sakura exclaims.

"Eh, Sakura, is something wrong?" Ino asks, noticing her silence. "Oh, nothing," Sakura says with a sweat drop, "Uh, hey, Ino, this is nice and all, but I'm sure you didn't come all this way just to tell me about your married life." Ino stops to think for a second.

"Oh, yeah," She says grabbing something out of her pocket, "By Tsunade's orders, we are to have a festival for all ninja! She sent me to Invite you of course!" Sakura saw the invitation in Ino's hand and swiped it without a word.

"Why a ninja festival? Not all ninja like each other, you know," Sakura says while examining the invitation.

"Yeah, it's the hokage's attempt at bringing them all together," Ino says, "So are you coming?" Sakura puts the invitation down for a second.

"I don't know," She says, "I never expected to go back to Konoha." Ino puts her hands together, pleading.

"Come one, Sakura. Don't you miss everyone?" She says begging, "You can even bring your man. I'm sure he'd like it." Sakura smiles slightly.

"Are you kidding?" She says, "The only thing Maro likes is se…"

"I heard that," Maro calls from inside. Sakura turns to retaliate.

"Heard what!" She yells, "I didn't even finish the thought, much less say it!"

"It started with an S. Was it going to end with an X?" He continued from an unknown location in the house.

"Very possible," Sakura says, "You are a man after all."

"See, I knew what you were going to say," Maro says appearing at the front door, "Anyways, I think you should go to this festival. It would be fun." Sakura couldn't help but smile. Of course she wouldn't refuse. Not when herfiancé wanted to go. Whatever he wanted, he got from her. Most of the time, at least.

"Fine, I'll go," Sakura says finally. Ino was startled by the sudden answer.

"Really? That's great!" Ino squealed, "It would be great if we all were there. The whole rookie 9, that is." Sakura frowned suddenly. Being together again would be awesome, but… the last time she had checked, the rookie 9 had included Sasuke. The mere thought of him made her blood boil.

"_This is my chance to challenge him. He'll come, I know he will," _Sakura thought.

"Sakura?" Maro asks. Sakura snaps out of her trance.

"Huh?" She responds. Maro laughs at her reaction While Ino just smacks her head.

"Sakura, do you want me to go pack our stuff?" Maro continues, "Or would you like to stay awhile longer?"

"No! Pack it all now!" Sakura says abruptly. Both Maro and Ino are caught off guard by her sudden attitude.

"You sure are fired up," Ino says.

"You bet I am!" Sakura says, " I have a mission."

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There, hoped you liked it. Remember, the more everyone reviews, the better chance there is of me updating faster. Stay tuned for the next chapter where we get to see how everyone else's life is going. Naruto's and Sasuke's in particular.

-Iya Kari


	3. Chapter 2

Ok, people, Im updating. I felt motivated by the few more people who reviewed, so I got another chapter going. I will not ask for reviews anymore. If you still wish to submit creative criticism, It would be much appreciated.

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What We Left Behind

Chapter 2

"Why did I have to be sent to get him?" Shikamaru says stepping in a puddle. He's presence disturbs the small creatures and send s them scurrying through the towering trees and darkness. "Why the hell is he living in a swamp, anyways?" He mumbles to himself. Eventually he can make out a small lamp in the distance. "That must be what he calls home, "Shikamaru says noticing the silhouette of a house. Suddenly a whir is heard going straight past his head . "What the! Shuriken!" Shikamaru panics, jumping to the side and landing in the murky swamp water, "ugh, disgusting." He looks up just in time to see a figure walking towards him. A figure with piercing red eyes of hellfire. Eyes with the Sharingan. "So I finally found you," Shikamaru says, "Uchiha Sasuke."

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"No, more to the right. Uh…no, too far. Left again," Tsunade says holding her index fingers and thumbs in a square.

"Aaahhh, make up your mind granny Tsunade," Says a frustrated Naruto on a ladder. He was carefully moving a banner. One that largely says "WELCOME." Suddenly the calm was disrupted by the squeals of children. A young boy and girl, looking similar, with blonde hair and white eyes came running into the area. Before they knew it, the children began running around the base of the ladder. They laughed as the ladder began to rock back and forth. Much to the dismay of Naruto.

"Hey, kids, don't do that, dattebayo!" He yells trying to obtain balance, "Ah, Ah, AAAAAHHHHH!" The ladder tips over taking Naruto with it. The children just laughed at their father sprawled upon the ground.

"Oh, Naruto, are you alright!" a very stressed Hinata says running onto the scene, "May, Kiro, that wasn't nice." The two children begin rocking on their heels.

"We're sorry mother," they say in unison. Naruto began lifting his head. There were tears evident in his eyes.

"My own children will be the death of me," He continues to sob, "What kind of supreme being would condone such irony?"

"I'm sure they didn't mean it," Hinata says helping him up, "Isn't that right, you two?" May begins digging her foot into thee dirt, a disappointed look on her face. Kiro nudges her slightly to get her attention. Both look up at their mother.

"We're sorry…" They say. Hinata looks at them sternly.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," She says crossing her arms to tell them she was serious.

"Oh, man," Kiro says whining . Hinata stares them down even more.

"Do it, I'm serious," She says . May turns to whisper in Kiro's ear.

"It's not like mother to be scary," She says keeping her eyes on Hinata the whole time.

"I know," Kiro responds, "Let's get this over with." The twins stood up straight and faced their father.

"We're sorry papa," Kiro says earnestly, "but it was fun at the time and we were bored." Hinata turns to her husband, pleading for the sake of their children.

"Could you ask for a better answer?" She says folding her hands in front of her, "I can remember the things that you did when your were bored, Naruto." Naruto pauses to think.

"Fine," He says giving in "I guess they have yet to do anything 'major.' And I would know 'major.' So I'll forgive it for now." Goodness, she loved her husband. He was so forgiving. However, Hinata's praise was cut short as she eyed Naruto suspiciously.

"Major?" She says, "You mean, like painting the entire Konoha monument? Or like, sneaking into the girls locker room by using your sexy jutsu? Is that what you call 'major'." Naruto sweat drops and begins rubbing the back of his head.

"I said I forgave them, didn't I?" he says, "Plus, I had help for those."

"And by help," Hinata says, becoming impatient, "You mean using Kage Bunshin and Konohomaru?" Naruto laughs sarcastically. This whole time, May and Kiro had stood there, watching their parents talk. May's hands were clasped together, a look of admiration in her eyes.

"Wow," She says, "The Sexy Jutsu! I cant wait to learn that!" Kiro looked at her annoyed.

"Listen to me sister," he says crossing his arms and closing his eyes, "No amount of chakra put into that jutsu would make **_you _**more attractive." May was ready to bombard him with punches, but Kiro held her away with one hand. He opened his eyes to look back up at his father.

"So," Kiro says, "You painted the WHOLE Konoha monument?……Father, you just became cooler in my book." Hinata nearly had a nervous breakdown.

"What do you mean?" Naruto says offended, "I've always been cool." Hinata breaks in before anymore could be said.

"No," She says flustered, "Your father is NOT cool. And under no circumstances do I want either of you to repeat anything he's ever done. Besides become a strong ninja. Do you understand!" The twins were caught so off guard by their mother that they could only manage a headshake.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto says, "That's not fair. What's the point of having children if they can't be like you." They could tell he was trying to get on her good side by adding "chan" to the end." Tsunade, who had been busy with Shizune about flower arrangements, finally took notice of the situation.

"Stop your little lover's spat, "She commanded, "We still have a lot to do." Hinata immediately snapped into action.

"Right, Tsunade-sama, I'll go check on the chef's progress, right away," She says. Tsunade simply nods in reply as Hinata takes off. Naruto, on the other hand, crosses his arms stubbornly.

"You're not getting me back on that ladder," He says. A wicked grin crawls across Tsunade's face. The twins recognize it and begin giggling.

"Alright," Tsunade says evilly, "I have a better idea."

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"We're having a ninja festival. You're invited," Shikamaru says short and sweet. The feeling was uncomfortable between him and Sasuke. All this years he never expected to see Sasuke again, but here he was, sitting across a decaying table from the Konoha traitor. The house was dark and cold. Just like Sasuke. It fit him perfectly.

"A festival?" Sasuke says staring past Shikamaru as if he isn't there, "Sounds like a cover up for a bigger mission." Shikamaru was surprised at how fast Sasuke had figured It out.

"I admit, I'm impressed," He says bored, "Only few of us know, but we're using the festival to get our hands on well-known criminals. They most likely will try and take this opportunity to attack. Yet they'll Have no idea that we had it planned from the start." Sasuke sat with a thoughtful look on his face. Contemplating every word Shikamaru spoke. "We'd appreciate it if you came," Shikamaru continues, "We could use the extra power." Sasuke perked up at the word, finally seeing Shikamaru as if he was there. He was intrigued that they found him powerful.

"_Looks like these years weren't for nothing," _he thought. "Interesting," was his short reply.

"Of course," Shikamaru adds, "For your service in detaining the criminals, we will revoke your own criminal record."

"_I see," _Sasuke thought, _"They must be really desperate to do that." _Shikamaru couldn't believe what he was saying. Sasuke was a traitor, a missing nin, yet the hokage still wants to trust him.

"_If this all ends bad," _Shikamaru thinks to himself, _"I'm afraid 'I told you so' just isn't going to cut it." _

"So, what do you say?" Shikamaru says finally. Sasuke hesitates for a second. Then he looks Shikamaru straight in the eye.

"Tell me more about the mission," He says, "Then I'll decide.

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"AAAHHHH! This isn't funny Granny Tsunade!" Naruto says swinging back and forth upside down. A rope was tied around his waist, leaving him hanging from the building.

"Hurry up and fix that banner!" Tsunade called from below, "How much do you trust your children?" May and Kiro giggled at the top of the building, holding the other end of the rope.

"We should let go, just for the fun of it," Mays says holding thee rope with one hand. Kiro shook his head.

"No," he says, "Mother will get mad at us again."

"Hey you two," Tsunade calls, "I have to go check on other preparations. Make sure your father fixes that banner. And don't let him get out of it!"

"Yes mam!" The two say waving as Tsunade walks away.

"Anyways," May says returning to the previous subject, "Mother can't get mad at us for not having the strength to hold up father's fat ass. We're only 12, after all."

"It's the ramen," Kiro sighs, "though, I admit you do have a pretty good point."

They both looked at each other and then spoke in unison, "Lets drop him!" They both abruptly let go, allowing the rope to disappear over the edge of the building. They waited, but heard no satisfying thump.

"That's a long time to fall," Kiro says crossing his arms. May furrowed her brow in confusion. She walked to the edge and leaned over, looking down. She saw the rope, but not their father. Kiro joined her and noted the end of the rope's condition. The end their father had been tied to was frayed.

"I don't believe it," They say together, "He chewed his way out!"

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"I see," Sasuke says with his hands folded in front of him, "So you are looking for someone in particular?"

"Yes," Shikamaru nods, "Believe it or not, she's just a kid, but the village is panicked that she has been spotted near Konoha. Her name is Anaco, just Anaco. I think you'd be interested in her." Sasuke put his hands down flat on the table.

"You don't need to bribe me anymore, I'll go, but why should I be so interested in this Anaco girl?" Shikamaru rested his head on his hand before grinning slyly.

"Because," He says, "She's Orochimaru's daughter."

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Naruto snuck through the alleyways. "This is too much," he says dispirited, "I like the festival idea, but I don't like that I have to help set it up……Well at least I'm not having to clean all the public toilets for it. I feel sorry for Kiba for being assigned that task." Suddenly an image of Kiba wearing a maid outfit and holding a scrub filled Naruto's mind. "I REALLY feel sorry for him," He says again.

"Trying to skip out on your duties?" A cold female voice came from behind him. Naruto turns around slowly to meet emerald eyes.

"No, no," Naruto says rubbing his hands together nervously, "I'm just taking a break, but I got lost." The green eyes didn't blink at him, nor did they show any sign of understanding. "Don't you have class, or training, or something?" Naruto says sweating.

"What's the point of training?" The voice responded, "When I'm the best at everything."

"That's right," Naruto says choosing his words carefully, "You're a top ninja with honors. You, uh, must be proud. Um, listen, I'd love to stay and chat, but I should get going." He began backing away.

"Yes, you should," The voice responded with warning and malice. Naruto turned away and speed walked to the end of the alley.

"_That girl is so much like her father, its scary," _He thought, _"Either that, or she's worse than him, much worse."_

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Ok, is everyone happy now? For the time being? I've tried to make the chapters longer, but it just doesn't seem to be one of my talents.

Notice:Like I said, I will no longer ask for reviews. It was brought to my attention that it displeased some of you that I cared for reviews. Im just insecure about myself and my writing. In fact one sent quite a distasteful review on how I was too demanding for reviews and that my writing flat out sucked. It dampened my spirits, and I'm ready to throw in the towel.Sadly, the next chapter may be the last.However, I'll let you all decide.

Coming up: Naruto greets an arriving Sakura, but does anyone greet Sasuke?Also, the top ninja with honors gets into a fight, leading to consequences of the hokage.


	4. Chapter 3

Im sure you've waited forever for this, sorry. Writer's block can suck rocks. Anyway, enjoy.

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What We Left Behind

Chapter 3

Sakura felt overwhelmed as she took her first step through the gates to Konoha. Though other ninja were arriving at the same time, she gained the most attention. Many looked at her, smiling in recognition. For a brief second Maro was forgotten behind her.

"So this is Konoha," He says awed. Ino stopped leading and turned around to face Sakura. Everyone fell silent, awaiting what was going to be said. Other ninja had even stopped arriving for the moment.

"Welcome home, Sakura," Ino says loudly with a smile. Suddenly the crowd breaks into a large cheer. Sakura couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She had no idea that she had been missed this much. She almost regretted leaving, but then she would have never met Maro. The thought of him made her turn to grab his hand. They walked together following Ino, carrying what little luggage that they had. The cheering didn't die down as the continued on. In fact confetti was added. A few came up giving Sakura flowers or kisses on the cheeks. She didn't mind, but Maro might have. She tried her best to make him feel included. All the attention almost made them loose track of Ino, but she patiently waited for them.

"Um, Ino," Sakura says catching up, "Where exactly are we staying?" Ino seemed busy looking around, but eventually answered.

"You're staying in the best hotel, of course." She says peering through the crowds.

"Uh, but Ino we can't afford the best hotel." Sakura says looking at Maro concerned. Ino turns slightly, smiling.

"You don't have to afford it," She says, "As the Hokage's former student, all expenses are paid." Sakura was relieved, but was still puzzled by Ino's behavior.

"Are you looking for someone?" She says curiously looking in the same places as her friend. Ino stopped for a second.

"I wanted Shikamaru to greet you, but it doesn't seem like he's around. Hmm, perhaps Tsunade sent him on a last-second mission," She says finally giving up.

"That's alright, we'll see him eventually. Plus, I think I've had enough greetings for today," Sakura says wiping her head.

"I suppose you're right. Well, come on then, this is where you'll be staying," Ino says pointing up and heading for the entrance. Maro gets a quick glance at the outside before quickly being dragged after Ino by Sakura.

"A balcony for each room. We've never even had a top level," He says amazed. The inside was gorgeous. Leaves may have decorated everything, but it still looked amazing.

"Maro, we can look around more later. Let's get settled in first," Sakura says pulling him into the elevator. As the doors closed and Ino pressed the number 10, music started playing from above.

"Wow, elevator music," Maro says. Ino eyes him carefully as he admires the speaker in the ceiling of the elevator.

"Sakura, Has he never been to a village before," She asks a little freaked out. Sakura smiles shyly.

"well," she says, "He's a…country boy you could say. He's lived in a farm all his life."

"The correct term is 'Shack'," Maro says correcting her.

"Fine, he's lived in a shack all is life," Sakura sighs. The elevator finally stops at their desired destination.

"Anyways, your room is number 107," Ino says handing Sakura some keys, " I suggest you take a nap when you get there. There is plenty of festivities planned. You'll need the energy." Sakura nods, stepping out of the elevator.

"Alright, hope to see you soon," Sakura says starting off down the hall as the elevator doors close again.

"Well, she seemed nice," Maro says following Sakura.

"She is when she wants to be…107 here we are," Sakura says. She pulls out the keys to open the door only to drop them. She leans down to picking them up, but stands up to find Maro gone.

"Maro?" Sakura says looking around. A feeling of dread suddenly overwhelmed her. There was some ominous feeling.

"Having troubles, miss?" A raspy voice calls from behind her. Sakura gasped and turned around to see a ninja.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he apologizes. Sakura felt uncomfortable, not just because he snuck up on her, but because of his head band. He was from sound.

"No, Its alright, thank you, but I have everything under control," She says stuttering.

"Very well," The sound nin says sounding amused. He turned, walking away down the hall. As soon as she felt a hand on her shoulder, Sakura nearly screamed.

"Sakura its just me," Maro says calming her down. Sakura stood there breathing heavily.

"Where'd you go?" Sakura says sternly. Maro rubs the back of his neck.

"I forgot that I had left our luggage in the elevator, I ran back to get it, I didn't think you'd mind," He says honestly.

"Alright, but don't do that again," Sakura says grabbing the keys and unlocking the door. The door reveals a very spacious and luxurious room. Both Sakura and Maro are Awestruck.

"I could get used to this," Sakura says running in to look out the window. Maro slowly walks in, closing the door behind him and dropping the luggage.

"I think I've died and went to heaven," he says admiring the furniture and the kitchen.

Sakura giggled from the window, "I think I forgot to say it, but welcome to Konoha."

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Shikamaru had insisted on Sasuke wearing a cloak, but he had refused. It wasn't just because he didn't want to alarm people when they arrived, but because HE didn't want to be seen with Sasuke when they arrived. It was too late now. They we're only a minute away from the Konoha gate. Other arriving ninja's may not notice them, but it was sure that once Sasuke was inside the village, seen by familiar faces, the hokage might be getting a few concerned complaints. Before he knew it, the minute had passed and they stood before the great Konoha gate. Shikamaru wanted to stop for a second to prepare himself, but Sasuke just kept on going past the gate. For the first few seconds, they were doing good, but then one gasp caught the attention of another, and so on and so on. It was dead silent. Sasuke had even stopped to admire the speechless town folk. He gave a small smirk before continuing on with his eyes closed.

"Its good to see that nothing has changed," He says, not even waiting for Shikamaru to take the lead.

"Hey, Sasuke, you'll be staying…" Shikamaru starts.

"At my place, in the old Uchiha district," Sasuke interrupts. He continues on without so much as a thank you. Shikamaru decides to stop escorting him. Not that he wanted to go a step further with him anyways. He had better things to do, like go find his wife. Who knows, she could have gotten pregnant since he was gone.

"How troublesome," He says watching Sasuke disappear down the street.

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Sasuke didn't mind that there was dust and cobwebs everywhere. He actually kind of welcomed it in his old home. After years of living in a swamp with horrible smells and darkness you really don't prefer it any other way. As soon as he had made it up to his room, a knock was heard at the door. Sasuke grumbled annoyed walking back downstairs to the front door. When he slid it open, he was met by a shinobi with a covered up face.

"Sasuke Uchiha, the Hokage wishes to see you within an hour," He says seeming to smile under his mask.

"And what are you, her messenger boy now, Kakashi?" Sasuke says recognizing his old sensei. The silver haired nin sighed with disapproval.

"Tsk, tsk, Sasuke, you should know better than that. Technically this is a dangerous mission. Not many people want to face the deadly Uchiha. I, however, volunteered. Therefore I'm not a messenger boy, but a brave man," He says pulling out an Icha Icha paradise to read. Sasuke grunts.

"Your wrinkles show your age, old man." He says stepping out and closing the doors behind him.

"Now Sasuke, don't for one second think you know anything about my wrinkles, Seeing as the last time you were here was 13 years ago. I, in fact, have no wrinkles, and am still quite youthful," Kakashi says flipping a page in his book.

"Whatever," Sasuke says stepping out into the sun.

"May I ask where you're going?" Kakashi says noticing Sasuke walking away.

"To see the hokage, correct," Sasuke says continuing on.

"But she wants to see you in an hour," Kakashi reminded him. Sasuke didn't even stop. He was stubborn as always.

"Its easier to just go see her now, I have nothing to do," Sasuke says finally ending the conversation. Kakashi stands there for a second watching Sasuke walk away.

"This is not good," He says before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

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Sakura was organizing her clothes in the very large dresser. It was fair to say that Sakura got the top 3 drawers and Maro got the bottom 3. Nonetheless there'd be no way either of them would be able to fill them completely. This place was full of space they didn't, but enjoyed. She was so enthralled that she didn't notice Maro come up behind her. He hugged her tightly, breathing in her scent.

"She suggested we take a nap, but she didn't say we couldn't do other things," He says starting to trail kisses down her neck. Next his hands search for an opening in her clothes. Sakura noticed this and lightly pushed him away.

"No, Maro, I don't feel like it," She says continuing to neatly fold her clothes. Maro moved away, frustrated.

"You never feel like it, Sakura. You joke about it to your friends, yet we've never done, not once. You even say that you want to wait until we're married, but will you give in even then?" He says raising his voice. Sakura turned around, offended.

"A relationship isn't all about sex, Maro," She says keeping calm. Maro wasn't satisfied with her answer.

"I realize that Sakura, but one time wouldn't hurt. What are you afraid of!" He says grabbing Sakura's arms.

"_I'm afraid if you knew……I'd be left heartbroken again," _Sakura thought.

"Maro, please stop, your hurting me," Sakura says struggling in his grasp.

"Tell, me the truth, Sakura, no more lying," Maro continues. Sakura's eyes began to fill up with tears.

"Maro, please, I'm not lying." She cried as Maro's grip began to hurt. She was sure that bruises would be left in the morning. Enraged, with one quick movement, Maro strikes Sakura across the face, knocking her to the ground. Sakura sat holding her throbbing cheek, tears flowing freely. She sobbed lightly, not wanting to anger Maro any further. Lucky for her Maro just walked away to sit on the couch. After a few moments of silence, he spoke again.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," He says looking at the floor, "I got carried away." Sakura was unsure whether she wanted to respond or not, but she did.

"Its alright, I understand," She says quieting her sobs. Before anymore could be said, a knock was heard at the door.

"Sakura," Ino's voice came from the hall, "Tsunade would like to see you right now."

"I'm coming," Sakura calls back getting up and wiping away her tears. She opened the door and smiled weakly at her friend. Ino noticed the puffiness of Sakura's eyes and the redness of her right cheek. Sakura walked past her down the hall, leaving the door to close on its own. Ino watched her for a second and then turned back to eye Maro suspiciously through the door before it closed, obscuring her view. Ino left it alone and caught up to Sakura. As they got in the elevator, Sakura was silent. She didn't utter a word. That just wasn't normal for her. She had been so talkative earlier coming here. What had happened that had left her speechless?

"Sakura, is everything alright?" Ino asks leaning forward to get a better look at Sakura's face. Sakura immediately put on a fake smile.

"Everything's just fine," Sakura answered enthused.

"Then what happened to your face?" Ino continues tilting Sakura's head to examine hr cheek.

"Oh, I was being careless and I smacked straight into the wall. It hurt so much that I cried a little," Sakura says, an obvious lie.

"Be more careful," Ino says still suspicious. They finally step out of the elevator at the first floor. Before heading out the door to go meet the hokage, Ino stops Sakura briefly.

"Hey, Sakura, you know you can tell me anything, right?" She says hoping for an honest answer.

"Yeah," Sakura says continuing out the door. Ino felt betrayed right there. If Sakura could truly tell her anything, she'd tell her what really happened. Perhaps she wasn't as trustworthy as she believed herself to be. With defeat, Ino followed Sakura out the door.

"But," Sakura says stepping onto the street, "Things are fuzzy right now. I'll tell you everything once I get it straightened out. I promise." Ino's hope was suddenly revived. Maybe she could help after all.

"Alright, lets go see the hokage. We can relax there. Nothing like the good old hokage on a drunken stupor," Ino says smiling.

"You mean…" Sakura trails off.

"It is a celebration, after all, Sakura. Tsunade is using this as her excuse for all-you-can-drink Sake," Ino continues, "Who knows, with our luck, we might run into Naruto there." The thought made Sakura smile. She had missed Naruto so much. After growing up with him being annoying, such antics became a necessity. Sakura knew she could do with a good laugh. Especially after what had just happened.

As they walked, Ino was suddenly halted by a shadow moving at the speed of light.

"Shikamaru, are you on caffeine again?" Ino said as the shadow stopped dead in its tracks. It revealed a very concerned looking Shikamaru.

"Ino, there you are," He says walking up to lightly grab her shoulders, "Are you alright? Are you pregnant?" Sakura could see Ino's irritated face. Suddenly Shikamaru was hit hard upside the head.

"Ugh, WHAT WAS THAT FOR, WOMAN?" He says grasping his sore head.

"That," Ino says, "Is for not paying attention in sex-ed and therefore being a nuisance to your poor wife. Now go and pick up Naito from the academy." Shikamaru slunk away without even trying to argue.

"How troublesome."

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THE END...no not really. All of you who were supportive have lifted my spirits. Im going to finish this after all. Maybe not quickly, but I'll finish it nonetheless.

So, yes thats the chapter. We get to see a whole new side to Maro. He seemed so nice before. Shikamaru, too lazy to be smart, as always. Ino being a caring friend and Kakashi being... well Kakashi.

Next chapter:

Sasuke's decision for an early appointment may lead to chaos at the Hokage's office. And why is the hokage slurring so bad? Also Kireichi picks a fight (I promise this time-)and may end up in the hokage's office at fortuatist timing...that is if they can catch her first.

As always,review, it makes it feel all worthwhile.

P.S. just for fun, whodoes this look like when turned sideways to the right: '/ )

Its pretty pathetic, but still the answer will be in the next update.


	5. Chapter 4

Yay, I updated quicker. I'll try to keep with this pace since school is over and I have the time. Enjoy!

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What We Left Behind

Chapter 4

"Naito, Is that?…" Sakura starts as the Hogake's office comes into view.

"Our son, yes," Ino finishes, "Really enthusiastic one too. it's a wonder how Shikamaru keeps up with him, being the lazy one." Sakura giggled lightly.

"I'm sure he's cute just like his mother and popular too," She says watching a bird fly by.

"He is, but…"Ino says taking on a grim tone, "He gets bullied around a bit. That's the only thing that worries me." Sakura didn't seem to notice Ino's discomfort.

"Im sure It'll be fine. If he keeps on getting bullied, tell him his aunt Sakura will be there to protect him," She says curling one fist.

"I don't think…"Ino says dismissing the subject, " Hey look there's Kakashi!" Sure enough as Sakura looked ahead, she saw her old sensei by the entrance to the hokage complex.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled running up to him and giving a slight bow.

"Eh, Sakura? You're here already?" Kakashi says casually.

"Yeah," Sakura continues, "The hokage wants to see me, after all. Are you coming too?" Kakashi quickly shook his head no.

"I'll let you go ahead, Sakura. I have some business to attend to outside first. An unwelcome visitor at the time," He says managing a small smile. Sakura thought nothing of it as she skipped ahead inside the building. Ino stays back a second to look at Kakashi.

"An unwelcome visitor," She says skeptical. Kakashi begins rubbing the back of his neck.

"Just keep Sakura company, she might need it," he says turning serious. Ino nods with understanding and continues to follow Sakura up to the Hokage's office.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Ino says thinking back on what Kakashi says.

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"I dare you to get up again," Kireichi says kicking the boy on the ground. His body was shaking, but it didn't stop her from beating him further. The fact that he just cowered annoyed and angered her at the same time. Without warning, the brown haired boy jumped up and charged at her. He was able to land one punch to the side of her face, but It was easily countered.

"Is that all you can do Naito?" Kireichi says kneeing him in the gut. She finished it with a head butt that left Naito's forehead bleeding. Other kids just crowded around them watching the fight with sick fascination. Despite his injuries, Naito still attempted to stand. It was in vain, though, as Kireichi lands a punch right on his face. It was sure to cause a black eye.

"You know what," Naito says weakly, "You just beat on people because you're jealous. You envy us because we have parents." Kireichi blazed with rage. She had considered letting him go for the day, but now that option was far gone. She pushed through the people who were attempting to help Naito. When she reached him, she grabbed what little hair he had and forced him to look her straight in the eyes.

"Your wrong. I'm disgusted by the relationships you all have with your parents," She says maliciously, "Caring for others is a weakness like a disease, and you are all infected. I am free of such burdens, making me stronger. Dot forget that!" Abruptly, she released his head, throwing him back painfully. He was caught by a few and laid carefully on the ground.

"What have you done!" One boy says enraged. More kids began to step out of the crowd, ready to fight. Kireichi just gave a smirk.

"This should be fun."

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Sakura knocked lightly on the Hokage's door.

"COME IN!" Comes a slurred obnoxious voice. Sakura opens the door, surprisingly to see a very clean office. She half expected it to be littered with Sake bottles. Tsunade's eyes lit up the moment she saw her former student.

"SAKURA YOU MADE IT!……………….Shizune, I seem to be slipping out of my AAHHH," She says disappearing under the desk, "Damn, polished chairs…"

"Um, maybe this is a bad time," Sakura says looking at Shizune concerned.

"NO…no, there's no hiccup better time than this for me to greet my favorite student," Tsunade continues repositioning herself in her chair.

"Um, Tsunade-sama," Shizune adds, "Sakura has been your only student."

"Did I ask you?" The hokage says pointing in the opposite direction of where Shizune was standing.

"Im over here, Tsunade-sama," Shizune says holding the hokages pet pig, which had gotten bigger.

"AAHHH," Tsunade says turning around, "Don't scare me like that!" Sakura and Shizune sweatdropped. Ino just sighed.

"What's hiccup wrong with all of you?" Tsunade says noticing the change in the other three women.

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The towns reaction didn't change as Sasuke walked down the street. As soon as he was spotted, everything went silent. People would whisper to each other. Sasuke, couldn't hear them, but then again, he didn't care. He thought he was better than them, that's all that mattered. As soon as the entrance to the hokage's building was in sight, Sasuke was disappointed to find Kakashi waiting for him.

"I thought we had finished our conversation," Sasuke says heading for the door. Kakashi stepped in front of it blocking Sasuke's path.

"You have to wait until your appointment, Sasuke. Just like everybody else," Kakashi says crossing his arms. Sasuke was obviously annoyed.

"Are you just going to sit there and block me?" He says, temper growing thin.

"Yep, and lucky for you, I have all day," Kakashi says pulling out his Icha Icha Paradise. With one quick movement, Sasuke knocks the book out of Kakashi's hands sending it flying.

"Unfortunately, **_I_** don't have all day," Sasuke says using the mid air book as a distraction to get past Kakashi. Before Kakashi can even blink, he looks to the book and back to find Sasuke gone. He turns around to see the fuming Uchiha on his way to the hokage's upstairs office. Kakashi begins to run after him, but stops.

"Oi, wait," He says running back to where his precious book lay. He cradled it briefly and then put it away, disappearing with a poof again.

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Three Jounin ninja ran past the alleyway, not even stopping to investigate it.

"She went this way," One says pointing and turning left. Kireichi slowly peeked out of the alleyway.

"What a bunch of idiots," She says taking off in the opposite direction of the Jounin. Truth be told, she was in big trouble now. She had been caught by a passing Jounin as she beat the crap out of numerous kids jumping on her. She was caught defending herself, but they would think it otherwise. The never took her side, they always made her out to be the bad guy. She was lucky to have caught an escape. They had been chasing her for the past 10 minutes. If she was caught, she'd be severely punished by the hokage this time. Then again, she didn't plan on letting herself get caught.

"There she is!" A voice says to her right. Kireichi immediately began running again.

"I knew I shouldn't have gone back to the academy today," She scolded herself, "If I had just stayed in the alley, it would have never happened. Unfortunately, Kireichi wasn't paying attention to where she was going. She ended up in a dead end. She went to turn back, but was stopped by the advancing Jounin. She turned back around and examined the building in front of her. She smirked giving the Jounin a bad feeling. Kireichi straightened up, putting her hands together. She began focusing all her chakra to her feet. The jounin quickly recognized it and moved quickly to try and stop her, but it was too late. Kireichi took a running start at the wall.

"Get men on the roof!" On of the Jounin calls, watching Kireichi quickly scale the wall. The ninjas scurried, unsure of what to do next. With a few already on the roofs, the others had no idea how to help. Kireichi quickly jumped roof top to roof top, contemplating a way to lose them.

Within an instant the whir of a shuriken could be heard. Kireichi looked back to find two jounin hot in her trail. The shuriken that had been thrown wasn't heading for her, but to the side of her. It passed her and then began to circle around. Kireichi took a closer look to find chakra threads tied to it. If she let that shuriken go around her, she'd get caught. As the shuriken started its way back, Kireichi ducked doing a spin. She was quickly back on her feet running again as soon as the shuriken had missed. However it made her lag a little. Suddenly a hand gripped her long hair pulling her back and stopping her. Tears stung her eyes as the grasp was so firm it hurt

"I've got you now," The jounin says smilling triumphantly. Kireichi does the only thing she can think of. She quickly pulls a kunai from her holster and runs it across her hair where she's being held. The long black strands detach from her head. The jounin that had been holding her was shocked as she began running again. Kireichi wasn't even the least bit sad. She had cut her hair because it was necessary to escape. As she continued running she threw shuriken of her own this time. One flew right past a Jounin, nicking his ear.

"This girl means business," He says continuing the chase, "too bad, she let her guard down." Kireichi had heard him and looked back. She looked forward again to see two jounin ahead of her. She stopped abruptly, ready to change direction, but they were everywhere. The closed in on her. She couldn't go up anymore. There was no escape.

"Damn."

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Sakura had only been sitting, enjoying her time with Tsunade for a few moments when Kakashi poofed into the room.

"Tsunade-sama, we have a problem," Kakashi says concerned.

"Kakashi, hiccup unless it's the problem we dread, there is no problem," Tsunade says smiling and drinking another sip of sake.

"But," Kakashi says rubbing the back of his head, "It is the problem we dread." Tsunade suddenly snapped out of her drunken stupor and turned serious.

"You we're supposed to take care of that," Tsunade says throwing an empty sake bottle at his head. Kakashi easily dodged it attempting to speak again.

"I told him, but he wouldn't listen," Kakashi says before a knock is heard at the door. Tsunade hesitates.

"Come in," she finally says. Everything seems to work in slow motion as the door handle turns. The door is slowly pushed open to reveal none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

"You wanted to see me?" He says bluntly, removing his hand from the door.

"I said in an hour, Uchiha," Tsunade says furious. Sakura seems frozen in her seat. The man she had once loved and now loathed.

"Well, I'm here now, so what did you want?" Sasuke continues, ignoring the hokage's rage.

"Hold it!" Sakura says shooting up, "I was here first, so get lost!" Sasuke, for the first time, takes notice of her in the room.

"Hn, Didn't know you were here. You were so quiet, I mistook you for a chair," He says with no emotion, "Usually your annoying, its amazing what time does."

"Sasuke, Sakura was here first," Tsunade says trying to keep the peace. Sasuke crosses his arms.

"Well, too bad for her, cause I'm not leaving," he says. Sakura clenches her fists.

"You better watch it, or else…" Sakura starts. "Or else what? You'll annoy me to death?" Sasuke finishes. Sakura can't say anything. She was caught off guard by that old trick again. Being called annoying stopped her more than anything else. Luckily she didn't have time to respond. Suddenly an intercom on Tsunade's desk came on.

"Hokage-sama, another fight broke out," A man's voice says before an impact and a loud scream of pain is heard. Most likely one of the jounin was kicked in the groin.

"Let me guess, her…" Tsunade responds.

"Yes…hokage…we…have a…victim," the man says, pain still evident in his voice.

"Send them up," Tsunade sighs, folding her hands in front of her. "Sasuke, Sakura, you both can fight about who speaks with me first among yourselves. I'd rather take care of this problem before either of you. Another knock was heard at the door and as it opens, it reveals a rather perplexed Shikamaru and a very beat up Naito.

"Naito, what happened!" Ino says running over to examine her son. She ran her fingers over his bleeding forehead and black eye.

"She did it, mom," Naito said simply, "She just started beating me up." Ino picked up her son and carried him to the hokage's desk.

"Tsunade-sama, you have to do something about this," Ino says pleading. Shikamaru moves in beside his wife taking a quick glance at the sly smile on his son's face turned away from Ino. Out of no where a loud crash is heard out in the hall followed by yelling.

"I'm not going! You can't make me, damn it!" Suddenly the door bursts open, a young girl being thrown inside, and 5 to 6 jounin tumbling in after her, keeping her restrained on the ground. However they slipped up. Kireichi got loose enough to do a break dance-like spin kick, knocking all the jounin back. She wasn't up for long though, in seconds she was tackled again. This time being restrained for good.

"Another fight?" Tsunade says glaring Kireichi, "Your visits are becoming daily." Kireishi smirked.

"Oh, I wouldn't call it a fight. In all honesty, I made them look better…ow…"Kireichi says as she's elbowed in the back to keep quiet. Sakura was utterly confused.

"_Why would the hokage want to deal with this girl first, before us?" _she thought.

"And who's this brat?" Sasuke asks annoyed. Kireichi's eyes immediately turned on him.

"Who the hell are you calling a brat? You bastard," She yells struggling to get free. Tsunade was fearful for a second. Knowing Sasuke's temper, she thought he would kill her right there and then. However his reaction was far from what she had expected. He gave his trademark smirk.

"Hn, I like this kid. She has real guts," He says heading for the door stopping next to the struggling girl, "What's your name kid?" Kireichi was shocked at this stranger to her. She was hesitant on whether or not to tell him.

"Its Kireichi," She says reluctantly.

"Hm, Kireichi, interesting name," He says quietly before turning around to address the hokage, "Tsunade-sama, I'll be back in an hour." They all watch as he walks out the door. They find it hard to believe that Sasuke gave up, just over meeting a monster of a child. Well everyone except the hokage. She understood it perfectly. Sakura, on the other hand, felt extremely exhausted. Tsunade took note if her look of fatigue.

"Sakura," Tsunade says turning to her, "I think you should go and rest. I'll have you back another time." Sakura yawned lazily.

"I think you're right," Sakura says slowly walking towards the door, "I am a bit tired." Ino puts her son down.

"Hey, Sakura, how about I have Naito walk you home," Se says. Sakura turns slightly.

"That would be nice," She says continuing out the door. Naito hurries after her to catch up. Now, Tsunade looks at the last problem in the room.

"Kireichi, not only did you start a fight, but you avoided capture," She says sternly, "I can't let you off easy any more. Your punishment is a week in the dungeon. Feel lucky its not whip lashings. Next time it will be." Kireichi closed her eyes in frustration. Tsunade also noticed something else as the jounin hoisted Kireichi up.

"What happened to your hair?" She asks as Kireichi is moved towards the door.

"Why the hell do you care? You've never cared about me…" She says as she's "escorted" out the door by the jounin. Once they're gone and the door is closed, Tsunade rests her head on the desk with a sigh.

"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi asks, "What went on between Sasuke and Kireichi?" Tsunade lazily raised her head to answer him.

"Sasuke, has once again realized that he has to preserve his clan with an heir. He's been inspired and is out on a woman hunt now," She says her head sinking back into her arms, "Shizune, I'm going to need more Sake."

"Its ironic," Shikamaru says gathering everyone's attention, "When Sasuke's heir was right in front of him."

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Well, there you go. The three meet, but both Sasuke and Sakura are totally ablivious to who Kireichi really is. My personal favorite was the drunken hokage part. Well keep on reviewing and I'll keep on trying to update at a reasonable pace.

Next chapter:

Hmm, not quite sure, haven't brainstormed it yet.

P.S. my question answerfrom the last chapter was Kakashi, here: ' eye/)mask, therefore '/) rotated right looks like a mirror image ofKakashi...That was really stupid, I regret ever accepting to do that for a friend.


	6. Chapter 5

Ok...Im not going to even comment on how late this update was...lots of crap has been a happening...

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What We Left Behind

Chapter 5

About halfway to Sakura's hotel, Naito had gotten caught up with some friends. Sakura, of course, encouraged him to go with them and said she could walk herself the rest of the way home. He had gladly ran off. And just her luck. Sakura was heading home, hoping to catch some sleep, when THE number one hyper active knucklehead ninja, found her.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! Welcome home!" Naruto says skipping up to her. Sakura was a little annoyed, yet was grateful at the same time.

"Its good to see you, Naruto," She replies trying not to sound tired.

"Same for you Sakura! As soon as I heard you we're back, I immediately took off to see you. I went to your hotel room and this man answered. Is he your boyfriend? He said you weren't in, but he didn't know where you had gone. He was very nice, I like him, Sakura, you're lucky!And then I started all over town for you. And I ran into a merchants cart and I...," Naruto Drones on,"...Hey, Sakura chan, are you alright? You look tired." Sakura had stopped listening a while back and finally realizes he had asked a question.

"Well, I guess Ive been a little exhausted since I got here," She says giving in. Naruto was dumbfounded.

"YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T SLEPT YET!" he says.

"Naruto, not so loud," Sakura says covering her ears annoyed.

"Well, then you have to go take a nap, NOW! You dont want to miss the festivities tonight!" Naruto says starting to usher her in the way of her hotel, "I need to go see if Hinata's holding up ok. I'll see you later tonight, Sakura-chan, and dont forget to bring your guy!" Sakura just gave a wave of her hand as Naruto ran off down the road.

_"Where DOES he get his energy? And when does he ever grow up? He still calls me "Sakura-chan" for crying out loud," _She thought continuing on her way. It was still a few blocks to the hotel and Sakura was hoping she'd catch Maro in a "good" mood.

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"uh...ugh," Kireichi groans as she falls to her knees. That last kick was placed straight in her gut, knocking the wind out of her.

"I dont see why the hokage thinks whip lashings is worse than this," laughed a large man, "In the dungeons you get treatment from us, little girl." Kireichi raises her head gasping for air, with blood trickling down the corner of her mouth.

"Dont...act like you're king of the world yet, you tub of lard,"She says spitting blood at his feet. The man's smile disappeared becoming angry at her comment. Another man, skinnier, sitting in the corner tossing a kunai up and down chuckled.

"Dont get bent out of shape, Jungo, we have a whole week to have fun with her. She has no control," He says throwing the kunai and skimming Kireichi's cheek. It left a about a quarter centimeter deep cut that freely bled down Kireichi's cheek. The large man, Jungo's, smile came back from the thought.

"Your right, Gair, We'll savor this little one," He says licking his lips.

_"Who the hell does the hokage have working down here. Does she even know what they do to people?" _Kireichi thought briefly before Jungo moved his foot to kick her again. This time she didn't have the strength to do anything. She went flying into the wall, hitting her head quite forcefully. It, no doubt, was bleeding. She then realized her surroundings. She was in a cell. Jungo laughed as he closed the bar door, locking it.

"We'll be back to check on you tomorrow, little one," He says continuing to laugh while walking away. As his laughter faded Kireichi slowly scooted herself under the "bed", a concrete slab being held up by two chains against the wall. Curling up into a ball, she couldn't hold it anymore. Warm tears began to flow from her eyes. She was...afraid. If things went on bad like this, she'd be harmed in a way that she'd never forget for the rest of her life. And even worse, no one was there to save her. The hokage would never know. She knew that if she went to her, Jungo and Gair would lie saying they did nothing. Of course, Tsunade would believe them. She'd never believe Kireichi. It was a sad realization as Kireichi was curled there sobbing quietly. This week could change her forever.

_"I kinda wanted to go to the the events for the festival too" _Kireichi thought quietly, _"I had even raised up money, for a kimono to wear to it, festival snacks...I had even planned to plant a Sakura tree."_

Eventhough, the festival would last the month and go on after Kireichi was released, It felt that after the torture she would obtain, she just wouldn't appreciate it the same. She was so fragile, but no one saw it. Yet, even with her inescapable fate before her, she only thought of one person. Someone who needed her, yet would lack her presence for the next week.

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Sakura opened the door to her hotel room quietly, hoping Maro would be asleep. No such luck. He sat on the couch as if awaiting her arrival.

"A blonde man came by," Maro says bluntly. Sakura gave a curt nod.

"My friend, Naruto. You knew where I was, why didn't you tell him?" She asks, the question bothering her.

"I want you to stay away from him," Maro said with no emotion. Sakura was confused.

"What...why?" She says taking a step closer, "He's just my friend."

"I dont like him," Maro says slowly getting angry.

"Whether you like him or not, I do, he's my friend and you cant keep me away from him." Sakura retorts raising her voice. Maro didn't blow up, in fact, strangely he chuckled and stood up walking over to Sakura. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Im sorry," He says wrapping his arms around Sakura,"I just love you so much, and Im afraid to have other men around you. Im sure it'll pass. I'll allow you to go out with all your male friends...after we're married, ok." Sakura was still frustrated, but nodded.

"Ok," she says, "After we're married. For now, I just want to get some rest before tonight."

"Alright," Maro says kissing her lightly before allowing her to head for the bed room.

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Sasuke walked down the dirty street, examining women left and right. Most were ugly, skanky, and quite a few made him gag.

_"What was I thinking coming to the red light district anyways? Nothing but whores, of the ugliest kind. I guess theres no quick fix to my clan problem. I'll just have to choose a girl and...get to know her,"_ He thought as he shuddered. The mere idea of having to get to know someone, didn't sound like fun to him. He glanced briefly at his watch. It had almost been an hour.

"Time to start back to the Hokage's," He says turning around, catching something in the corner of his eye.

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"Kireichi?" A small voice called from outside the tiny barred window. Kireichi had begun dozing off when she heard it. Unsure, she waited.

"Kireichi..." The voice continued. This time Kireichi knew it wasn't her imagination. She quietly made her way out from under the "bed" and struggled to stand on her abused body to meet the window. It was already dark. She saw a shadow, thats all, but she didn't need to see who the voice was coming from to know who it was.

"Anne?" She whispers back.

"Why are you here?" The small female voice responds. Kireichi attempted a small smile, but was unable to put a convincing one on.

"My stupid antics again," She says, "Im afraid I'll be gone all week. Dont worry about me, go on home, there should be enough food to last you until I get back." Though she couldn't see it, she knew the other understood.

"Have you eaten at all?" Anne asks, concerned. Kireichi hesitated before answering.

"No..." She simply says. Surprisingly, a hand reached through the bars offering something.

"I thought as much,"Anne says," So I brought you some beef jerky." Kireichi accepted it, handling it carefully as if it were precious.

"Oh, and this," Anne says offering another object. Kireichi held the strip of beef jerky in one hand reaching for the object with the other. Grabbing it lightly, she held it up to the moon's pale glow. It was a flower. Blue and purple colored petals.

"Its a moon bloom," Anne says, "Only opens at night when the moon shines on it. They say its good luck if you have one with you when you sleep." Kireichi Tenderly touched the beautiful petals.

"Thanks," she says, suddenly beginning to cry. Anne could be felt tensing up.

"Whats wrong? Do you not like it?" She asks worried.

"No," Kireichi says wiping her tears,"Its just, no one's ever given me something before. I like it, I really do." Anne was relieved.

"Well, hang in there. See you in a week?" She says before leaving.

"Yeah," Kireichi nods. And then she was all alone. Carefully she made her way back under the "bed." After devouring the beef jerky, she curled up, getting comfortable, and placed the flower in what little hair she had. _"Please, let luck exist. Please let this help me make it throught the week," _was her last thought as she drifted off to sleep.

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"Damn it, Uchiha, I said one hour, not five!" An angry Tsunade yells slamming her fist on the desk, "Its already night!" Sasuke stood uneffected.

"I was busy," was his simple excuse. Tsunade threw an empty sake bottle at his head. It went right past him, shattering on the wall.

"Im busy, too," Tsunade continued, "I have scheduled appointments for a reason. And "I was busy" ain't gonna cut. So where the hell were you?"

Sasuke sighs, "If you must know, I was in the red light district, frankly disgusted by the ugly whores. I would have been on time, but then I turned back and saw the only beauty among them all. I of course didn't waste any time to walk up to her. Then we went back to my place an I..."

"Ugh, you sick BASTARD!" Tsunade interrupts, "I asked you where you were. You could have just said you were with the girl. You dont have to go into great detail! Did I say give me a discriptive recap!"

Sasuke didn't answer so Tsunade turned to Shizune, "Did I say give me a discriptive recap!" Shizune shook her head no.

"Thats what I thought!" Tsunade says turning back to Sasuke, "but since you're here now, and I happen to NOT be busy, I'll inform you of your goal here." Sasuke gave a short nod.

"We made a deal," she continues," You help us catch criminals present, and we'll destroy your file as a missing nin, therefore allowing you back to Konoha forever. You start tomorrow, with rain village nins. You capture them at any means necessary, put them in the dungeons, and be as discreet as possible, understood?" Sasuke nods again.

"Good, now here's their files with all the info you need to know," She says handing him a folder, "When you have a new job, we'll send someone for you. As soon as you hear from them, come straight here for the new files. And I dont want you to be late with any damn excuse unless its that you're dead!"

"Is that all?"Sasuke says taking the folder," You needed to see me for ten minutes?" Tsunade was about to lose it.

"Do not question me! Now get the hell out of my office!"She yells, ready to throw another bottle if he didn't. Sasuke nodded once more and then headed for the exit.

"And, Uchiha, one more thing," Tsunade says stopping Sasuke in the door," You're an Elite Ninja now, try to act like it." With that Sasuke left. Tsunade straightened herself up.

"Alright, I was as hard on him as I could be, Jiraiya," She says turning to see the white haired perverted hermit appear out of no where.

"Eh, I think you could have done better, but here," Jiraiya says handing her a wad of money. Tsunade gleefully sat down and started counting it. Shizune sweatdropped.

"Hey, Tsunade, lets make another bet so I can maybe earn my money back," Jiraiya says. Tsunade glares at him coldly.

"No way! Get the hell out of my office!

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"Daddy! Kiro's splashing mud on my kimono," May says glaring at her evil brother.

"Honestly, I dont know what you expect me to do about it, May," Naruto says looking through all the people.The festivities were well under way. Tonight was the night that they were giving awards to students. Everyone was there, Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Lee, Tenten, Neji. Hell, even Sasuke had stopped at the festivities for a second. They all sat, hoping their children would get an award of some sort. The announcer on the stage was an elderly man, most likely a head teacher of the academy.

"We give the award of improvement to... May Uzumaki!"He announces.The young girl calmly got out of her seat, as if expecting the award. Kiro just scowled at her and she briefly stuck her tongue out at him. Hinata and Naruto cheered for her as she went up to the stage and graciously accepted the award. Before heading back she made a quick V with her index and middle finger towards her parents.

"Next," The announcer continues,"Our award of leadership shall go to...Naito Nara!" Naito got up slowly as if he were uninterested. Ino was freaking out at the achievement of her son, while Shikamaru just sat there lazily.

"How troublesome," He mumbles watching Naito get on the stage. Naito takes the award and gives a quick yawn before retreating back to his parents.

"And lastly," Says the announcer," Our greatest award. We give it to the student who we believe has achieved higher standards than all the rest. A student who is most probably going to become chuunin in the upcoming year. Ladies and Gentlemen, We give this award to THE Kireichi no name!" The announcer chuckled and so did much of the crowd. Sasuke, who was still hanging around for the moment, recognized the name.

_"The girl from earlier," _He thought curiously, remembering the encounter at the Hokage's. A few clapped, but the award was met with no recipient. Another man, out of the crowd, walked up to the announcer whispering in his ear.

The announcer gave a brief nod before addressing the crowd again, "Well thats all everyone, Im afraid Kireichi is not able to accept the award. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the festivities. People exchanged glances with eachother, wondering where the girl could be. And just as quickly, she was forgotten. There was too much fun awaiting them at the festival to worry over the absence of one girl. One girl, in fact, who's absence was enjoyed by many. Naito, himself was relishing in it. As Naruto got up, he realized another absence. Everyone was there, or had been there, except for one.

"Where's Sakura-chan?"

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There, how'd ya like it? I'll tell you this much, I suddenly got inspiration for the last chapter of this story. I decided to write it down, and I'll gaurantee It'll be the longest chapter. The only bad thing is, now I have to go back and actually write the chapters that lead up to the ending. What a pain, but thats what I get for skipping ahead. So I'll have the next chapter as soon as possible...hopefully under three weeks. I know, I know, Im a horrible person, but atleast Im trying. Keep on sending reviews and maybe I'll get my butt in gear.

Coming up: ...You'll just have to wait and see!


	7. Chapter 6

OMG! I was finally able to scower my broken computer and rescue the chapters! Thats right, Chapter 6 is finally here! Enjoy!

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What We Left behind

Chapter 6

Sakura sat up slowly, rubbing sleep from her eyes. The sun was shining and beaming through the window.

"Did I not sleep very long?" Sakura says pushing herself off the bed.

"You wake up finally." Sakura looks around and spots Maro sitting in a chair near the bed.

"Finally?" Sakura says confused, "What time is it?"

Maro hesitates, then answers, "Its 9 A.M." Sakura nearly falls over.

"9 A.M.!" She almost yells," Maro, why didn't you wake me up? I was supposed to go to the festivities last night with Nar..." The look Maro gave her, stopped her midsentence.

"Dont tell me you're still thinking about yesterday," Sakura says annoyed.

"I told you, after we're married, Sakura," Maro says getting up from the chair.

"But does it count if you're with me. If you're around you shouldn't have to worry about me being with my male friends. Plus, Naruto's married," Sakura argues.

"There are quite a few beautiful houses around here," Maro replies changing the subject.

"What?" Sakura says flustered.

"In fact theres a nice house for sale just down the road. I figured, this is your home town. Why dont we stay?" He says calmly walking over to the window.

"You mean it?" Sakura asks excited.

"Yes," Maro responds," In fact, lets go see it right now." Sakura nearly squealed running over to hug him. He had his moments, but otherwise was ok.

"Thank you," she says running around getting dressed. Maro smiles and walks out of the room waiting for her. Sakura cleaned up quickly and was out like a flash walking with Maro down the street.

"That one," Maro says pointing while holding Sakura's hand.

"It looks nice on the outside," Sakura says kindly. They walk up to the front door.

"Lets have a look, shall we," Maro says opening the door. They walk in, removing there shoes. Sakura is astonished.

"Its wonderful," Sakura gasps,"There's so much space."

"You want it? Its yours," Maro says smiling.

"But Maro, are you able to pay for this sort of thing?" Sakura asks, still mesmerized by the house," Im surprised that after one day you want to live here."

"Actually," Maro interrupts," I figured, since it was your village and all, you'd be the one buying it. Its only fair."

"Oh," Sakura says beginning to frown.

"But just look at it Sakura," Maro continues not noticing her change of face, "So big, it'll be perfect for the children."

"Children?" Sakura nearly chokes.

"Of course Sakura," Maro laughs, "When I plant my seed within you, after we're married."

"I see," Sakura says taking on a grim tone. Maro pays no heed to her attitude as he continues walking throughout the house.

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"Ahhugh," Says the rain nin as he falls to the ground clutching his stomach. Sasuke had made it quick and simple, using his chidori. He had been up late with his new found girl, Tami, and he was in a grumpy mood. He wanted to get the job over with quick. The faster he puts the nins in the dungeon, the faster he can get back to Tami. If he remembered correctly, She was still sound asleep in his bed. He admits, she was attractive among the rest, but he made sure she took a long bath to purge her of filth. She had needed a bit of work, and for the time being was tolerable. Sasuke quickly used chakra threads to tie the two rain nins back to back.

"Now, to throw you where you belong," He says heading off to the dungeons.

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Naruto had woken up early this morning, with one thought on his mind,

"Where was Sakura last night?" He had quickly eaten breakfast before heading off to Sakura's hotel. And the best part was, the elevator broke down with him in it. He had sat there waiting for the problem to be fixed, while going insane with the elevator music. Finally, there was a sign of movement. The elevator jerked up, and then down. Up, down, up, down, Naruto was getting jacked up pretty bad. When finally it stopped and the elevator doors opened allowing Naruto to crawl out, a random passerby stepped on his hands. Then seeing as he was only half way out of the elevator. The doors attempted to close on him.

"AH, this is not my day, -ttebayo," he says finally making it to Sakura's room. He knocks lightly at first. And the more his knocks were unanswered, the more he knocked harder.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yells pounding on the door, "Answer me!" He slowly slides down the door crumpling into a ball, earning stares from random passers.

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Kireichi's eyes shot open at the faint sound of footsteps. She could hear them getting closer and closer. From fear she scrunched herself as much as possible under the "bed." Then accompanying the steps were a familiar laugh. It was definately jungo. And that meant she could only presume that Gair was with him.

"I didn't expect them to be back so soon. I was hoping tonight, not this morning," She whispers to herself. When the foots steps came as close as possible, they stopped.

"Where's the little one?" Jungo asks opening the door to the cell.

"There, she's cowaring under the bed," Gair chuckles, "How cute."

"Ha,ha, I love it when they struggle," Jungo replies. He crouches and grabs ahold of Kireichi's shirt pulling her out from her hiding space.

"No! Let me go," she screams, "Trying to claw at his arm." Both Jungo and Gair just laughed.

"What do we have here?" Gair says grabbing the moon bloom from Kireichi's hair.

"What a perfect representation of a flower. Lets crush her!" Jungo laughs evilly. With that, Gair slowly closes his hand on the flower. Kireichi watched with wide eyes before becoming enraged.

"You bastards," she yells attempting to kick at them.

"Fiesty, just the way I like 'em!" Gair says dropping the crushed flower and reaching for Kireichi's shirt.

"Lets see some of that pale skin, girly," Jungo says pulling Kireichi's shirt up a little, showing her bare stomach. Gairs free hand was slowly creeping up Kireichi's leg.

"Stop it!" Kireichi yells struggling. Suddenly time seems to slow down. Kireichi was getting short of breath and her mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of hatred for these two men.Just as its about to get worse, a stranger walks in, dragging two ninjas with rain headbands.

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"Naruto!" Sakura says as her and Maro walk towards their room. Sakura has an urge to run and see if he's ok, but Maro's strong grip holds her back. When they finally reach the crumbled blob of orange on the ground, its maro who speaks.

"Are you alright?" He asks looking briefly at Sakura. Naruto's head pokes up.

"Sakura, you're here? Its not an illusion?" He says dazed.

"Yes...Im here, Naruto," Sakura says looking at him like he's crazy.

"Here, let me help you," Maro says smiling and offering Naruto his hand. Naruto gladly takes it, pulling himself up.

"Thanks," Naruto says, "You did more than Sasuke-teme ever would." Maro furrow his brows in confusion.

"Who's Sasuke?" He asks looking at Sakura. Sakura gives a short laugh, but then Naruto breaks in.

"Oh, Sasuke was our other team mate as genin. Sakura had the biggest crush on him, but he never returned her feelings," Naruto rants. Maro listens to him, acting curious, when really he's starting to get suspicious. Sakura, behind Maro, was running her hand across her neck to get Naruto to shut up. However, he just continued, not one thought as to how jeopardizing the subject was.

"And then," Naruto continues," One year he came back..."

"Naruto!" Sakura says shoving him against the wall," Have you been drinking!" Sakura stared at him angrily, but also in her eyes, she was pleading. naruto didn't understand why she would be like this. So he decided to nod and agree with her.

"I thought so," Sakura says harshly," Because you have no idea what you're talking about!" Naruto slunk to the floor.

"You're right, Sakura-chan," He says, "My heads so jumbled. I should just go home."

"Yes, just go home to Hinata," Sakura says helping him stand. He was heavy, but only because he was acting like he was drunk. Naruto slowly started walking away, slouching the whole time.

"I'll see you alls later," Naruto says beginning to slur.

"It was nice to meet you again," Maro says waving with a "nice guy" attitude.

"Likewise," Naruto says walking down the hall. On his way to the elevator he ran into five different things, whistled at two passing ladies, and kept tripping.

_"Now thats over doing it,"_ Sakura thinks walking into the hotel room, _"Atleast it was convincing for Maro. That was close, too close." _Maro turned on Sakura immediately after the door had closed.

"So did you really have a crush on this guy, Sasuke?" He says in a low tone. Sakura put on her best poker face.

"Of course not," She smiles," Sasuke had a crush on me! He'd never leave me alone, it was SO annoying!"

"I see," Maro says lightening up, "I was worried for a second there."

"Dont be," Sakura says walking up to him giving a quick kiss, "You're the only one meant for me." Maro smiles, kissing her back. He's convinced.

"So are you ready to move to a new house tomorrow," Maro asks turning to head for the bed room.

"Of course," Sakura says," It all thats on my mind. I wish we could move in tonight!"

"Good to hear that you're so anxious," Maro is heard from the bed room.

"Yeah...,"Sakura sighs," I'll make us some dinner." Maro didn't respond, which usually told Sakura that she should do just that.

"Food will be done in ten minutes," She calls heading to the kitchen.

At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder, _"What is Sasuke doing right now?"_

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"Isn't she a little young for you," Sasuke says staring at the two men intently.

"Its none of your business," Jungo says annoyed, "What do you want?" Sasuke looks closer to see the same girl from yesterday.

"Im here to drop off two rain ninjas who need special care," Sasuke says dragging the ninjas closer.

"Alright, just leave them there and we'll get to 'em in a second," Gair says turning his attention back to Kireichi.

"May I ask what this girl is doing here in the first place?" Sasuke asks not moving.

"She's been too much of a pain in the Hokage's side, so this is her punishment," Jungo snorts. Sasuke glares at him.

"Im sure it was just solitary confinement,"Sasuke says, "The hokage expects you to feed her and leave her unharmed. By the looks of it, you're not doing either."

"Like the hokage has time to worry about what we do to prisoners," Gair laughs and Jungo joins him.

"She's not a prisoner, she's a child, now give her to me," Sasuke says staring at Kireichi.

"You want a piece of her too, eh?" Gair mocks continuing to laugh.

"Dont lower me to your level. Give her to me," Sasuke says dangerously. Jungo and Gair start to take this seriously.

"You cant have her, she's been sentenced by the hokage to be in the dungeons for a week, theres nothing you can do about it," Jungo says letting go of Kireichi's shirt.

"Yes, I can do something about it," Sasuke says triumphantly,"I am an Elite ninja. Therefore Im altering the sentence to house arrest." Both Jungo and Gair burst with laughter.

"Yeah, right," Jungo chuckles,"Everyone knows this girl dont have a house!" They both continue laughing. Sasuke takes a brief glance a Kireichi who seems hurt by the comment.

"Fine then," Sasuke says," Then I'll have her serve her sentence at my house, where I can keep an eye on her." The two idiots looked like they had been slapped in the face.

"You cant do that!" Gair says looking to Jungo for back up," He can't do that!"

"Yes, I can, an Elite Ninja out classes you by far, so hand the girl over," Sasuke says finally, knowing he's won.

"Er,AAAhhhh!" Jungo yells in frustration as he stomps past Sasuke, out of the Dungeons. Gair was right behind him. Sasuke watches as they both disappear before turning back to Kireichi. She was crouched on the floor picking up what seemed to be the remains of a flower.

"Its no use," Sasuke says taking a step forward,"The flowers long dead." Kireichi stands up with the remains, taking a few steps away from Sasuke.

"Kireichi, right?" Sasuke asks. Kireichi nods her head slowly, keeping her head down, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Listen, Im not going to hurt you," Sasuke continues, "But I believe you have a sentence to live out. So come on." Kireichi makes no sign of movement.

"Your not going to make me carry you, are you?" Sasuke sighs. Kireichi shook her head no. She just wasn't used to very many people being nice to her.

"Well then come on," Sasuke says getting impatient. This time Kireichi moves a few steps closer to him.

"Good," Sasuke says turning to leave. Kireichi follows but keeps her distance. She doesn't want to trust him right off the bat. She follows him through the streets avoiding the looks of the people on the street, but eventually they walked on streets that had less and less people. Finally they stepped onto a street banned of any people at all. A few more paces and Sasuke stops at front of his house. Kireichi is so busy observing the abandoned area that she almost runs into him.

"Take your shoes off," Sasuke tells her before stepping inside. Kireichi obeys. The first thing she sees as she walks in are antiques everywhere. She moves to examine one closer, but Sasuke stops her.

"Dont touch anything until you've had a bath," Sasuke says looking her over. Kireichi hade forgotten that she was covered in blood from her brutal beating the day before. Not to mention that she wasn't exactly able to keep clean in the first place. Kireichi follows Sasuke upstairs where he gives her a pair of his childhood clothes and a towel before shoving her in the bathroom. He goes to check on Tami while Kireichi's getting cleaned up. Unfortunately, Kireichi gets side tracked with the glorious bathroom.

"Its so large," Kireichi comments walking to the bathtub. It looked more like a hot tub though, with its size. She quickly turns the nob and feels the steaming water flow over her hands. She rarely got a hot bath. The closest was when the river would get warm from the sun. Suddenly her attention was caught by a bottle on the counter. It read "Bubble bath."

"I've never gotten to try this stuff before," she says excited. She quickly grabs it and pours some into the tub. Almost instantly, bubbles began layering the water. Kireichi carefully peels off her clothes.

"Ow!" She says catching a sore wound. After undressing she watch as the water level got higher. The bath was near full and Kireichi giggled as she jumped into the hot water. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. It was so soothing and relaxing. As she reached to turn off the running water she noticed that the water was already a reddish brown from the blood and dirt.

"Hmm," Kireichi sound draining the water," I'll just put some more." She quickly turned the hot water on letting it wash over her body. When it was full, it was still a reddish brown, but not as bad as the first time. She quickly drained it again, refilling it with more hot water afterwards. This time she took the opportunity to use the soap and scrub a little bit. Then after draining and refilling the tub once more she used the various shampoo products lined up by the side of the tub. Eventually after a total of 5 baths, Kireichi got out and wrapped herself in the towel. She sat on the edge of the tub, missing the hot water already. It was hard to believe that she actually had fair skin under all that grime

_"Thank you, Anne,"_ Kireichi thought,_"That flower really did bring me good luck."_

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There, hoped you liked it! As usual read, review, tell me what you liked in the story. I'll try my best to get the next chappy up soon, with school kicking me in the ass now. However if theres one thing I know, its that my writing comes first!


	8. Chapter 7

Hey, hey, Ansatsushawdi's back in town! School is making me positively nauseas, but I can still find the strength to satisfy all my fans...at least I think they're my fans...anyways, enjoy!

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What we left behind

Chapter 7

Kireichi was dressed in no time and was hoping to find some food. She carefully peeked out the bathroom door first, unsure of where the man from earlier was. Quite frankly, he scared her. Seeing the coast was clear, Kireichi slowly opened the door wider and moved out into the hall, oblivious to the mess she had left.

"This place is huge," Kireichi says quietly walking through the halls, "Where's that guy, and where's the kitchen?" Then Kireichi's ears picked up on a nose. It sounded like...moaning? Curiosity got the best of her as she followed the sound. Eventually she was stopped in front of a door that definitely had the moaning coming from inside.

"What's going on in there?" Kireichi whispers, peeking through the keyhole. What she saw was definitely not a sight for a 12 year old girl. The man from before was in bed with a woman. Embarrassment quickly whipped Kireichi around in the opposite direction. She hurriedly but silently made her way as far from the room as possible, her appetite ruined. Her safe haven was found in a small study/library that was pretty much on the other side of the mansion.

"What a weird guy. He takes me into his house for my punishment, then does it with a woman, knowing that a child is in the house. Why did he even take me in in the first place?" She says examining the shelves of books. She looks over the small desk in the room spotting some reading glasses. She put them on, acting like a librarian. Her eyes light up the moment she sees a roller ladder. She runs over jumping on it, making it roll to the left.

"I see," she says, talking to imaginary people, "You're looking for cookbooks." She points to a random book before continuing.

"How about 101 Traditional Recipes," She says making up the name, "You're looking for romance novels? I'm not sure what's wrong with you, but there over there." She points to the other side of the room. She giggles as she continues pretending.

"You're looking for the 'guide to not being an idiot.' I'm afraid I can't help you with that sir," Kireichi laughs harder rolling to the other side of the room," Hmm, Advanced Jutsus...personal checkout? I think so!" Kireichi pulls the almost perfect condition book from the shelf and sits on the ladder.

"Let's see...Firecracker Jutsu? That's original," Kireichi says sarcastically. Nonetheless it catches her interest, and she continues to read the required hand signs.

"Dog, dragon, horse," Kireichi says performing the handseals, "Focus chakra in palms of hands and bring them together quickly..." Just as she was about to complete it, she stopped.

"Who am I kidding; I can't do advanced jutsus..." She says closing the book.

"You don't seem very confident," Sasuke says startling her. Kireichi nearly drops the book as she notices the robed man enter the room.

"I'd presume you're a smart one, they gave you an award last night," He continues walking towards the desk.

"Huh? Oh, the best of the best award?" She asks smugly, "Yeah, they give it to me every year. Yet, I never seem to become chuunin as they believe. I think they just give it to me out of pity."

"Why would they pity you?" Sasuke asks, not really caring.

"That's just it, I don't know..." Kireichi says getting down from the ladder.

"Those aren't very flattering on you," Sasuke says changing the subject.

"Huh?" Kireichi asks confused. Sasuke points to the glasses, which Kireichi had forgotten she had on.

"Oh," She says sheepishly taking them off and handing them back to him.

"Actually," Kireichi says abruptly, "Why did YOU take pity on me. I didn't need your help!" Sasuke smirked.

"So it is you, vicious like before," Sasuke says putting the glasses away, "I thought I had the wrong girl for a second."

"Hmph!" Kireichi grunts, folding her arms, "You make it sound like you were looking for me." Sasuke nodded lightly.

"I had hoped to meet you again after that little incident in the hokage's office," He says looking at her, "It just happened sooner, and under less enjoyable circumstances." Kireichi backed away a bit, wary of what he was saying.

"Why did you want to meet me again?" Kireichi hesitates, "Are you one of those…men, uh, men that like children." Sasuke gave a light laugh.

"The word I believe you are looking for is, pedophile, and no, I'm not one," He says reassuringly," To be honest, When I first met you in the hokage's office, you reminded me a lot of myself when I was your age." Kireichi still wasn't registering this as an answer to her question.

"So what are you exactly trying to say," Kireichi says getting impatient. Sasuke sighs, taking the Advanced Jutsus book from Kireichi.

"It means," He says, "You have a lot of promise. As powerful as I am, I have a lot to do, but most of it is going on missions for the Hokage." He hesitates, opening the book, briefly glimpsing at the pages.

"Now believe it or not, I intend to start a family soon, but as powerful as I am, being gone on all these missions, means I can't be here to protect my most likely only heir," He says snapping the book shut, startling Kireichi," What I'm saying, Is I can teach you more advanced jutsus than you can count and give you place to rest when you're tired and food when you're hungry. All In exchange for you guarding my "assets" in my absence." Kireichi decided to repeat that in a language she'd understand.

"So, what you're saying is you'll supply living expenses and help me become stronger, all for the price of watching over "junior" when he comes?" She asks making sure she got it right. Sasuke nodded.

"You have a simple way of talking, that's good," Sasuke says heading to the door, "Because for the on coming years, words will do you no good."

"Hey, I haven't said yes yet," Kireichi calls after him, "I don't even know your name."

"I already know your answer. It was evident in your expression. You needn't say it," Sasuke says throwing her the book, "You'll know my name, whenever you wish to know it, but not from me." With that he finally left, leaving Kireichi alone in the study.

"When you wish to know it…"Kireichi says the wheels suddenly turning in her head, "the book…" Kireichi examines the book in her hands once more and opens the front cover. In small print at the bottom it clearly read "Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke, who hadn't moved from beyond the outside of the door, gave a curt nod before actually leaving this time.

"_So she figured it out, in a matter of seconds no less,"_ He thought walking back down the halls to his room,_ "In that case I'll leave her to find her own place to rest." _Kireichi was oblivious to the fact that Sasuke had still been there, but even if she had been aware, it wouldn't have mattered. She was busy thinking hard on what she was about to do.

"_I magically volunteered my services and now, I'm in too deep. How am I going to keep Anne safe _

_if I have to go back and forth from her to here,"_ She thought putting the book down finally. This time she was truly hungry, it was rare for her to be well fed every day, but here, she had a chance.

"Depending on what fills the fridge," Kireichi said quietly, "Anne can have food too!" Kireichi excitedly runs out the door only to be met with the unfamiliar hall.

"…Which way is the kitchen?" She said confused, "Wait, which way is even the way back to the bathroom?" Quickly making up her mind, she set off in a direction, which happened to be the opposite of where she had come from before. It became a never ending maze, but this time, Kireichi paid attention. Every turn, every corner was mapped into her mind, so as not to be lost again.

Every door she passed, she explored, unless it was locked of course. Her enjoyment of this stopped when she stepped into a trophy room. As she turned on the dim lights she was caught off guard by a giant stuffed snake. It was definitely a trophy to be proud of, but something about it made the hairs on the back of Kireichi's neck stand up.

"I feel like we've met before, when you were alive," Kireichi says speaking to it, "But even now, you look alive, like you recognize me the same way." Suddenly something metal is heard falling on the stone floor of the room. Kireichi looks over to see a small tin gold trophy lying on the ground. She quickly looks up to where it could have fallen from. There was a shelf holding similar trophies back by the snake's tail.

It was silent and quite frankly was getting too creepy for Kireichi. She begins backing out but takes a quick glance at the snake before reaching the door. She could have sworn the snakes eyes were in a different position than before, a position staring straight at her. Fear grabbed Kireichi, almost making her throw herself back into the hall. She didn't even bother turning off the lights as she quickly closed the door behind her. She went to the other side of the hall, and stared at the door.

"What…just happened?" She asks breathlessly. She could see the light beyond the door from the space underneath it, but ever so slowly the light began dimming more and more, until it was all gone. And once no more light shone from under the door, Kireichi could hear a low, but most definite hiss.

She quickly ran back the way she'd come hoping to find Sasuke or someone that could believe her. It's not everyday that a trophy comes back to life. Maybe she just freaked out, when it was all just her imagination. Only one way to find out, but she wasn't going back alone. She admitted she was dependant on others occasionally. Blindly running back down the halls, she ran into someone. Falling back, she quickly looked up, ignoring any pain caused. Semi-luckily it wasn't Sasuke. She would have been embarrassed to run into him. Instead it was an older man of white hair.

"Ah, you must be Kireichi, the guest the young master informed me of," He said offering a hand to help her.

The first thought that popped into Kireichi's mind was, "Young! How long has it been since you've seen him!" She held the comment in remembering the real reason she was there. She kindly took the man's hand.

"I am Sigfried, the keeper of the house," He says helping her up.

"Keeper of the house? That's good!" Kireichi says relieved. There's a large snake in the trophy room, that's, well, alive!" Sigfried smiled warmly.

"You have quite an imagination," He says laughing lightly.

"No, I swear, I went in, was startled by the stuffed snake, then a trophy cup fell near where the snakes tail was, I looked back and it was staring at me, I left, and then the lights went out and I could hear hissing from inside the room, " Kireichi says hurriedly in one breath. Sigfried seems to contemplate it.

"Stuffed snake? I'm afraid no one from this household has ever hunted snakes, much less the larger ones," He says matter-of-factly. Kireichi was taken a-back.

"You mean that snake isn't supposed to be there, and from the moment I walked in, It was alive right in front of me?" She says nearly fainting.

"My goodness child, you really seem distressed about this," Sigfried says looking at her seriously. Kireichi nodded her head, still shocked.

"Well then, we should go check this out immediately," Sigfried says passing Kireichi in the direction of the trophy room.

"Just you? You're not going to get Sasuke to come?" She asks.

"Its not usually approved of to call him by his first name. I suggest you refer to him as Uchiha-sama. And as for your question, no, I can't bother the young master with hunts of imaginary snakes," He says stopping to wait for Kireichi.

"_So he still doesn't believe me…,"_ Kireichi thought saddened, _"No one ever believes me…"_

"However, I believe all lies hold some truth," Sigfried says patting Kireichi on the head. Immediately her hope was regained. Kiriechi smiled, nodding, and continued with Sigfried down the halls to the trophy room. The whole time walking there, they were quiet, which made Kireichi slightly uncomfortable, but she at least relaxed in the fact that she wasn't alone.

"My, look at that," Sigfried says finally coming to the room. Kireichi nearly froze at what she saw. The door to the trophy room was wide open and the lights poured out the entry way into the hall. Kireichi clung to Sigfried's arm as the slowly approached the open room. A few feet away, Sigfried stopped and unlatched Kireichi from him.

"I'll go first," He says giving Kireichi's hand a confident squeeze. Sigfried casually walked into the room, seemingly disappearing into the light. Kireichi heart raced, waiting for something, a scream, a hiss, anything. She was startled when Sigfried poked his head out the doorway.

"Its safe, young Kireichi," he says smiling and disappearing back in the room. Kireichi carefully walked forth, still unsure, the situation could change at any time. When she walked in, the room seemed bigger, for there was no large snake taking up the area.

"Why was the door open and the lights…" Kireichi stops, spotting another figure near Sigfried. It was Sasuke sitting in a chair reading a book. Sigfried, she assumed, had told him about everything.

"Sigfried tells me you've been discovering snakes in your free time," He says addressing her.

Kireichi didn't like the tone in which he said it, which immediately set off her come back, "It's not my fault you have such large pests!" Sasuke didn't seem to like _her_ tone of voice, but dismissed it. He didn't know what it was about her, but this girl could get him fired up, and he assumed he did the same for her, practically getting at each other's nerves.

"You look tired and hungry," Sasuke says flipping a page in his book, "I'd assume you weren't smart enough to find the kitchen … or a guest room."

"Grr…,"Kireichi says, restraining herself.

"Sigfried, give her the Blue Hour room, nearest the kitchen…" Sasuke orders on. Kireichi finally took the time to examine what he was reading.

"_Pretty Woman...,"_ Kireichi thought continuously looking from Sasuke's face to the book, _"No way in hell…" _Suddenly it dawned on her

_"Something ain't right,"_ She panicked mentally, _"By the time I get back with Sigfried, Sasuke is already here, out of all the rooms in the house he could have went to, and reading a book, no less, that he should not be caught dead reading. All in all, the queerest moment in history, or he knew about the snake and won't tell!" _And the trophy from before was back in its place, but slightly crooked, as if it was carelessly put back. Kireichi was awfully suspicious at this point and barely noticed when Sigfried attempted to turn her around to be lead to her room, and more importantly, the kitchen.

"Good night, Uchiha-sama, don't let the giant snakes bite," Kireichi says leaving with Sigfried. It all worried her, up until the point of arrival at the new destination. The snake business was nearly forgotten as Kireichi was introduced to the kitchen. It was heaven, and Kireichi wanted a good piece of it. After being told where her room is, and after Sigfried left, Kireichi concentrated on nothing but food.

"Bo-log-na," Kireichi says grabbing the lunchmeat, "Sure we'll try that too." In a matter of minutes she had the table covered, and just as quickly, she devoured it all. When she finally retired to her room, she was pleasantly surprised to find pajamas waiting for her, a metallic purple color with blue stamps throughout it. Feeling the oncoming exhaustion, Kireichi quickly changed. They were rather large, most likely a woman's pajamas and not a child's.

She would have liked to just jump on the comfortable bed, but she was even too tired to do that. She just sluggishly burrowed under the covers eyelids becoming heavy, forgetting her early encounter and anything else. She just drifted into a peaceful sleep.

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There! hows that for an uneasy feeling? It all pieces together, dont worry, I just might make it stretch over quite a few chapters...or installments. Hopefully most, if not all, of you will stick with me until then. Hoorah!


	9. Chapter 8

hehe sweatdrop Im sure you must all hate me right now. Bet you thought I had fallen off the map. Well, now that I actually didn't have write'rs block for a few hours, I can finally bring you my next chapter, enjoy.

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What we weft behind

Chapter 8

"Sakura...Sakura, wake up," Maro calls gently.

"Hmm, what?" Sakura asks groggily hugging the pillow.

_"Wait," _She thought, _"This isn't the hotel."_

"Surprised?" Maro asks examining her features, "You were such a sound sleeper that when morning came I carried you to our new house. We had enough to sleep on, otherwise its completely bare." Sakura pushed herself up on the matress.

"That wasn't necessary, you could have waited until I woke up," she says rubbing her eyes.

"Well, considering it was already noon when I brought you, I doubt you would have woken up anytime soon," He says getting up to look out the window.

"Oh, sorry," Sakura says turning away.

"Dont worry about it," Maro says smilling, "Now why dont you get up, and go shopping. Some villagers volunteered to show me around, so I'll be gone. Im trusting you to buy all our necessary needs."

"Of course," Sakura says watching him leave, already dressed. Slowly she got herself out of bed and examined the empty living space.

"I guess we can live with the matress for now," She says taking a stroll through the house,"A couch and tv would be nice to relax until we can afford more. However I think today's focus should be food." As if on que her stomach grumbled. She quickly ran into the bathroom to take a shower. It was already afternoon and she needed to use her time wisely.

"Why doesn't Maro wake me up?" She says frustrated as she dries her hair. Suddenly she hears a knock on the door.

"Be right there!" Sakura calls finishing up her hair. As she glides down the stairs she rushes to the door and opens it slightly, getting a peek, before opening it more.

"Delivery for Miss Sakura Haruno," says the messanger at the door, holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Wow," Sakura says taking the handful of flowers.

"Have a nice day mam," The messanger says quickly taking off.

"Wonder who its from?" Sakura says searching for a card of some sort. Eventually she spots a small pink card buried in the mass of plants.

It read, "Welcome back, ugly. Sincerely, Sai." Sakura nearly exploded.

"Why that little...,"She says taking the flowers inside and closing the door. She just carelessly throws them in the sink, filling it with a little water. Then her stomach gave her a cruel reminder of no food.

"Right, groceries," She says putting on her shoes and before walking out the door, "Why didn't we just bring what we had from the hotel? I guess theres no point in asking Maro, he has his reasons." With that she was out the door and on her way to the marketplace.

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Kireichi awoke to a dark figure looming over her.

"Are you death?" She asks obviously out of it. Suddenly the nightstand lamp flicks on and the figure was none other than Sasuke.

"I guess I forgot to tell you theres no windows in here, not that its hard to see," He says standing straight and crossing his arms. Kireichi sat up sleepily, taking a glance around the room. Sure enough, there were no windows.

"I guess I was too tired to even notice," She says sheepishly.

"It doesn't matter, just because theres a lack of windows doesn't mean you can sleep in," Sasuke says pulling the covers off of Kireichi.

"What?! Why not?!" Kireichi protests, "You weren't that quick in making a baby, So Im not needed yet!" Sasuke smirked pointing to a clock.

"Its already afternoon," He says tossing her a small coin bag, "You have shopping to do."

"Shopping?" Kireichi says examining he bag.

"Yes, after your little binge yesterday, we've been left with no food. And for your information, it takes energy to make an heir. Food equals energy, energy equals heir, got it?" Sasuke continues leaving the room. Kireichi crosses her arms in a defiant matter.

"Food equals energy, energy equals heir," She says mocking him afterwards, " And my annoyance equals my foot up your ass! God what a weirdo!" Kireichi reluctantly shimmied out of bed and grabbed the set of clothes already hanging in the closet. Normal clothes, thankfully, no uchiha symbol.

"It would have been awkward walking around with a family crest on my clothes, after all, its not my family," She says changing, not even bothering to put her shedded pjs in a convenient spot. She would have been on her way sooner if she hadn't stumbled into an unmapped section of the house. Finally making it out the front door, she headed in the direction of the market, anxious for the delicious foods she had seen and could now finally get.

"I hope he doesn't expect me to save any money," She says devilishly continuing on her way.

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"Carrots, potatoes, beef. Hmm, might as well make some stew," Sakura says lugging a few bags around, "Some apples would be nice too. Ha, it rhymed!" For the little money she had, she was able to get quite a bit of food. She had already nibbled on some though, leaving a little less. However, she was getting bored of food so she moved on to a nearby merchant selling shiny jewelry and other things.

"Pretty jewelry for a pretty lady," the merchant calls out as Sakura approaches.

_"It would be nice if Maro bought me such things,"_ She thought looking at the gem incrested and engraved jewelry. Then as a rather large hanging piece turned in the wind, Sakura saw a brief reflection from behind her.

"Sasuke," She growled under her breath. She turned around, ready to glare daggers at him, only he wasn't there. Instead she saw the girl from the hokage's office at a merchant across the street.

"Listen, a girl your age cant be buying that much, leave some for my other customers!" The merchant argues with her.

"You'd get the same price either way so just let me have 'em," Kireichi protests in return, hording a bag of tomatoes away fromt the merchant's grasp.

"For all I know, that money's stolen girl, "The merchant continues, "Come back with your parents, then I'll let you have 'em." Kireichi was taken a back by the statement.

"Oh, dear, there you are," Sakura says, walking up behind her, "You're not causing any trouble for the nice man, now are you? Kireichi glared for a second.

"Of course not," She says through her teeth, forcing a smile.

"Is this your child ma'm?" The merchant asks, eying her carefully.

"Yes, my daughter, uh...," Sakura struggles. The merchant starts looking at her suspiciously.

"Kireichi, mother," Kireichi finishes with an emphasis on "mother."

"Oh, right," Sakura replies, "Im always getting you and your twin sister, uh, Kira, confused." The merchant lost his intense glare and gave up the tomatoes.

"Its best to stay with your daughter, especially when she's carrying a suspiciously large amount of money," The merchant finishes.

"Uh, right," Sakura says bowing, "Im sorry for any inconvenience." The merchant gave a final nod as Sakura turned to walk away, Kireichi following.

"I didn't need your help, ya know," Kireichi says once they are far enough away.

"Yes you did," Sakura says, "What were you thinking? Just how much money did you have on you?" Kireichi seemed bored with the question, but answered it anyways.

"Eighty thousand..." Kireichi says.

"YEN?! No one in their right mind goes to the market with more than fifteen thousand, especially a little girl!" Sakura says surprised.

"Im not a little girl!" Kireichi says angrily.

"Well, you're certainly not an adult," Sakura counters, "Do your parents know you have this much?" Kireichi was speechless. It was the one weakness she had, the one that could never disappear. Kireichi's silence was enough to give it away.

"You dont have parents, do you?" Sakura says sympathetically, reaching out to put a hand on Kireichi's shoulder.

"Just leave me alone!" Kireichi screams, smacking Sakura's hand away and running off.

"I didn't mean to...," Sakura says watching Kireichi disappear. With a heavy sigh, Sakura turns head back to the market, the opposite direction in which the distressed girl had ran. After awhile she found herself back at the jewelry merchant, looking at a particuler piece. It was a silver necklace. Attached to it was a silver flower that opened as a locket. A place to put a very dear picture or two.

"Thirty thousand yen...keep dreaming," Sakura says to herself. After one last glance she decided to head home.

"I have a feeling this'll be a common routine for me," Sakura laughs lightly, "Maybe I should try and find a short cut." Therefore, instead of the way she came, Sakura took a left, straight into an alleyway.

"This should roughly have me arrive about two streets away from our house," She calculates looking at the sky.

"What have we here?" A dark voice says behind her. Sakura stops, turning to face whoever said it. A tall lanky man, with light hair walked out of the shadows.

"Looks like a pretty one," He says running his tongue over his dry lips.

"With food to spare, too," Another, more large, man says walking out of the shadows on Sakura's other side.

"Im not in the mood to deal with you," Sakura says, ready to punch her way through a wall to get away from them. Only problem is, she couldn't move. She looked in the glint of the light to see threads restraining her.

"Ah, you are Shinobi," Sakura says slightly amused.

"Former, actually," the larger man says, "But that doesn't mean our little tricks still cant help us. Especially with that girl the other day."

"What did you do to her," Sakura says more seriously.

"Well, we started with her money and valuables, then went to her clothes..." The lanky man says taking a knife from his pocket, "Then we had a little fun with her."

"You sick bastards," Sakura says, thinking of the poor girl that sustained such cruelty.

"I'd get used to it darlin', you're next," The lanky man says, advancing on her. What she didn't know was Kireichi had been listening to the whole thing behind a corner, watching the two men intently, until she felt another presence. In the next moment, all sakura saw was kunai striking both men rapidly.

_"What's going on?"_ Sakura thought, watching as the men crumpled to the ground.

"To think you call yourself a ninja," A male voice said from above. Sakura looked up to meet the gaze of none other than Sasuke Uchiha. He jumped down into the alleyway checking the vitals of the two men, finding them dead.

"Uchiha-sama," another ninja said appearing, "It was unnecessary to kill them."

"I dont really care," Sasuke says smirking, "I was caught up in the moment showing Sakura what a real Shinobi is." Sakura nearly growled.

"I know perfectly well what a shinobi is," Sakura retorts, "You're just getting it confused with the definition of a murderer." Sasuke glared at her dangerously. Sakura smirked inwardly, knowing she had won.

"What? You going to hit me for it?!" She sys to him. What she didn't expect, was he did. It wasn't until after the smack that Sakura had realized what had happened.

"You should know your place," Sasuke says continually trying to intimidate her. Despite the throbbing pain in her red cheek, Sakura was as pissed as a female could get. She easily tore through the thread bindings with her superhuman strength.

"You bastard," Sakura screams aiming a powerful punch to the Uchiha's face. It easily connected with the unsuspecting Sasuke, throwing him a good few feet from the force. Sasuke held his now bruised cheek, glaring at the fuming woman.

"You're the one who should know your place," She says mocking him, "Konoha is no place for a murderer, much less a traitor." With that, Sakura stormed off in the direction she had come, wanting to walk home a safe way. When she reached the opening of the alley, she found Kireichi waiting for her. Almost immediately she softened.

"Uh, look Kireichi, Im sorry about before..." She tried to apologize, but was met with something glittering in her face. Sakura got a better look at what Kireichi was offering her. It was the necklace. The one with the silver locket shaped as a flower.

"Why did you..." Sakura starts but is cut off.

"Its payback for helping me earlier," Kireichi says, still offering the jewelry. Sakura smiled genuinely.

"Thank you," She says taking it and quickly putting it on, "but I dont have any pictures to put in it yet."

"Be careful," Kireich says turning around," Choosing pictures for it, that is. What you think is important to you, may not be what needs to be important to you." After that, Kireichi walked away, disappearing once again. Sakura seemed to contemplate Kireichi's words a bit longer.

"Well, I think I'll put a picture of me and Maro in here, then I'll save the other side for our...our first born," Sakura says faltering.

_"First born"_ The words seemed to repeat in her head. Sakura had started to walk, continuously bothered by that statement, _"First born."_ It was a while before she even realized that she was already at her front door.

"Im sure Im just being silly," Sakura says opening the door and walking inside. She was met with broken bottles all over and a strong smell of alcohol. what got her the most was her flowers. From where she left them in the sink, they were torn apart. Her heart lurched with sadness.

_"Sai may be an ass, but he's still a friend, any gift froma friend is precious," _She thought delicately touching one flower only to have the petals fall off in response.

"I think you're all pretty girls," Sakura heard Maro's voice from the living room. She quickly moved out of the kitchen to see Maro, drunk off his ass on the couch, cuddling two girls who looked to be nothing more than common whores.

"Ah if it isn't my favorite girl of them all," Maro says, noticing sakura's arrival, "This here lady will be the mother of my children." Both whores look at Sakura with distaste and malice.

"Maro...honey," Sakura says trying not to upset him, "Why are these girls here?"

"Why else?" Maro slurred, "I need something to take care of my needs, seeing as you dont want me to touch you until we're married. This is what you wanted." Sakura's temper slowly started rising.

"I wanted you to stay faithful to me in the process!" Sakura says raising her voice, "You two get out!" The other girls look once at eachother, then move to get up, but Maro's firm grip around their waists stop them.

"They aren't going anywhare, Sakura," Maro says in a low tone.

"Well excuse me while I go find some random guy on the street to sleep with," Sakura says turning to leave. All she heard was the movement on the couch before she was pinned to the wall.

"I'd think twice about that, Sakura," Maro says turning her to look straight in his eyes," You're the one who has to stay pure. If I find out otherwise, I'll kill the man who did it, and make sure you live to regret it, understand?" Sakura's eyes began to well up with tears as she wrenched herself from his grasp running for the front door.

"Now ladies, where were we?" She heard him say as she left the house. She fell onto her knees, oblivious to the fact that it was getting dark and had started raining. The tears just kept pouring, no matter how long she had worked to stop her weakness. Her walls came tumbling down around her. How she just wished the rain would drown her, wash her away into a sea of nothingness. Soon after the rain strangely seemed to stop pouring on her. She looked up to see an umbrella held over her head, the holder, none other than Kireichi.

"Like playing in the rain in your free time?" She asks looking at the pathetic lump known as Sakura. You couldn't say she wasn't taken off guard as Sakura suddenly leaped up, hugging Kireichi as if for dear life. Kireichi didn't know what to do. She just stood there, letting her sob. The comfort of one person, just one to stay with her, was good enough for Sakura.

"If you dont intend to go back in there for the night," Kireichi says after awhile, "I suggest you come with me." Sakura looked at her, slowly wiping her eyes.

"Any place is better than here," she says her sobs quieting. Kireichi led the way, holding the umbrella over both their heads.

"Kireichi..." Sakura says beside her, calmed down.

"Hn," Kireichi responds waiting for what she had to say.

"You already paid me back, you dont have to do this for me. Now I owe you," Sakura says quietly.

"Who said anything about you owing me?" Kireichi says almost offended, "This is just me doing something out of the goodness of my heart, besides..." Sakura looked curiously at Kireichi.

"Besides?" She mimicked.

"If I had known my mother, It think she would have been a lot like you," Kireichi says with a small smile. Sakura happily smiled at the compliment.

"Thank you," She says wiping new tears of joy away, "I guess if I ever had a daughter, then she'd be a lot like you."

She'd never come to know how true those statements really were...

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I made Sasuke hit Sakura because a friend requested it. However, her exact request was to make Sasuke punch Sakura. I would never make it that bad because Sakura is still one of my fav characters. As is Sasuke, obviously, but he deserves a punch to the face. Anywho, hope you enjoyed it. Never know when Im going to update again, so go ahead and review, and tell your friends!

-Iya Kari


	10. Chapter 9

Betcha thought I had died and was never coming back, eh? Well, I'm back with a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it, since I dont know when I'll be able to get the next chapter out.

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What we weft behind

Chapter 9

"Where are we going?" Sakura asks as they continue through the pouring streets. Kireichi hesitated before answering.

"We're going to my temporary home," she finally replies, taking a right.

"Temporary?" Sakura says curiously, trying to stay underneath the umbrella.

"Yeah, temporary," Kireichi clarifies, "Some weird guy is sheltering and feeding me in exchange for me to watch over his little bundle of joy. Not to mention his little bundle of joy is not even existent currently."

"Wow, he sounds really insecure if he cant take care of his own child," Sakura comments, trying to keep the conversation going. The previous silence had been uncomfortable, and eventhough Sakura had only met Kireichi, she couldn't help but feel that she wanted to know more about her.

"He has such a cold demeanor about him," Kireichi continues, "Maybe its better if he's not in charge of his kid. I cant even begin to imagine the emotional abuse it would go through."

_"Cold demeanor? Man, that sounds a lot like Sasuke, but it couldn't be him. Sasuke would never take in a girl, even if it was for his benefit...would he?"_ Sakura wondered as she failed to notice the rain once again pouring on her.

"Hey, this way," Kireichi says, catching Sakura's attention. She looked over to where Kireichi stood with the umbrella.

"But, that's an alley way," Sakura says, slowly following her.

"That's right, it takes us straight to the back of my temporary home," Kireichi says, "I cant exactly come walking in the front door with a stranger. My 'employer' isn't exactly the warm welcome type." Sakura nodded her head in understanding.

"Sorry, I should have known that," Sakura apologizes, allowing silence once more.

Being in an alley made sakura think back to what had happened earlier that day. Sasuke had actually struck her. Then again, she did strike him back, and nearly ten fold at that. It just went to prove how much they had changed since the formation of team 7. It's as if they were never a team in the first place. Naruto was busy with his family, not to mention his dream of becoming hokage. Sakura, herself, wasn't even around again until recently, and even then, she's expecting to start a family. Then there was Sasuke. The one who was distant from the rest to begin with.

_"To think I had loved him once,"_Sakura thought sadly, _"Enough to do what I had done, enough to..."_

"We're here," Kireichi announces, breaking Sakura from her thoughts. Sure enough, standing at the end of the alley way, they were met with a small shed.

"You have got to be kidding," Sakura says surprised," Your employer and you live in THAT thing? Well no wonder he's impotent, who knows what kind of diseases that place holds. However, I dont see what's so bad about walking in the front door, he'd see me immediately, no matter where I entered from."

"Oh my god, you're annoying!And who said my temporary home was the shed. My temporary home is _there_," Kireich cuts in, pointing past the shed. Sakura gasped as her gaze wandered from the shed to the massive house beyond it.

"WOW, you never said your employer was rich," Sakura says in awe.

"Hn, didn't think it was important," Kireichi says dismissing it, "Now, the only window is in the kitchen, it's my short cut. However, its right above the sink. If you hit it, it'll make a large metal bang. If your stupid enough to pull that off, I'll claim that your an intruder to save my own hide."

"Hey! Where do you get off calling me stupid?! I didn't ask for your help!" Sakura says angrily.

"You didn't ask, but you still followed, didn't you?" Kireichi says approaching the window, "Now, be quiet." Sakura stubbornly crossed her arms because she knew Kireichi was right. So instead of continuously protesting, as was her nature, she decided to be quiet and follow Kireichi. They stayed below the window sill as they snuck up to the back of the house. Kireichi quickly peaked inside to check if the coast was clear. To her dismay, the kitchen was indeed occupied. Sasuke sat at the table sipping tea.

_"Well atleast he's not doing something weird with that girl on the kitchen table,"_ Kireichi thought relieved.

"What do you see?" Sakura asks quietly.

"Shh!"Kireichi says quickly. Sasuke noticed the noise and turned to look out the window. Luckily, Kireichi ducked out of view just in time.

"Whats..."Sakura starts but is silenced as Kireichi smacks a hand over her mouth. She signals for Sakura to move up against the side of the house. Sakura catches the nervous look on Kireichi's face and complies. Had she known it was Sasuke looking out the window above them, Sakura would have immediately refused to go any further with Kireichi. However, the fact that she was indeed unaware of it, is what kept her going for a safe haven for the night. Kireichi slowly released her hold on Sakura's mouth as she sensed Sasuke move away from the window. Unfortunately, she felt him coming back. Kireichi tensed up, thinking that she had been caught. Instead, she heard the lock of the window before sensing Sasuke move away once more. This time, she sensed Sasuke had left the room completely.

"He knew we were here," Kireichi says letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding,"He didn't know who we were, but he knew someone was here. Next time, hide your chakra." Sakura was about to protest again, but Kireichi interrupted.

"And he locked the window too, damn it!" Kireichi says pounding her fist on the window. Unfortunately, with her super human strength, she easily shattered the window.

"Crap..."Kireichi says regretting her action. That's when they heard a sliding door at the side of the house.

"Oh, no, he's coming to find us," Kireichi says trying not to panic. She had never had to think of a plan so quickly before. However, being a natural born genius, she managed it. Quickly she performed hand seals as she felt Sasuke getting closer.

"Come on," she says, grabbing Sakura and running up the side of the house with her perfect chakra control.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asks as he turns the corner. Kireichi breaths a sigh of relief on the roof.

"My bunshin should keep him occupied,"she whispers.

"You locked my window," Kireichi's bunshin replies in a calm tone.

"Your window? I believe this whole house, including the window, is mine, and now you've gone and broken it," Sasuke says irritated, "what's wrong with going in the front door?"

_"I swear I've heard that voice before,"_ Sakura wonders.

"Isn't it obvious? It's quicker this way,"The bunshin says in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Hn," Sasuke replies, "Doesn't matter, fix the window and take the front door from now on. You could use the excercise." The real Kireichi, furious at the comment, had grabbed a hold of a nearby shingle, crushing it with all her might.

"Whatever," Her bunshin says, disappearing around the other side of the house. She could tell Sasuke had gone back inside as well.

"Hasn't the guy ever heard of a back door?" Sakura asks curiously. However, the question fell on deaf ears. Kireichi's in particular.

"Call me fat, huh?...," Kireichi says fuming, "Just for that, Im going to make sure that his kid's first words are shit, damn, hell..." She went off on a rant.

"Sorry to interrupt your future plans, but...now what?" Sakura asks, making sure Kireichi heard her this time.

"There," Kireichi says pointing, "The chimney."

"WHAT?!" Sakura nearly screams, "We're going to go down the chimney?!"

"Hey, if a FAT guy like Santa Clause can do it, so can we, "Kireichi says, leaving no room for argument. By the look on Kireichi's face, sakura knew she shouldn't push it.

"Fine," Sakura sighs, "The chimney it is."

**10 minutes later...**

"Shimmy slowly," Kireichi reminds Sakura as she scoots down the chimney after her.

"Uh, Kireichi?" Sakura's innocent voice calls in the darkness of the structure.

"Ugh, Erg, what?" Kireichi grunts as she continues on her way down.

"...I'm stuck..."

"...Oh dear god..."

**20 minutes later...**

"Ow, ow, ow ,ow, OW!" Sakura whines as Kireichi pushes on her with her feet.

"Oh, stop being such a cry baby. It's the only option," Kireichi says.

"No the other option is for you not to wear cleets!"

"Complain, complain, that's all you do," Kireichi says pushing harder.

"Ow ow ow...hey, Im loose," Sakura says finally.

"Uh..." Kireichi's unsure voice says.

"What?" Sakura asks as she cheerfully continues to shimmy down.

"...Now Im stuck..."

**Half an hour later...**

"Keep pulling," Kireichi says as Sakura tugs on her torso.

"I cant. Its hard enough to support myself in this chimney," Sakura says struggling, "You might be stuck for good. Try to wiggle a little." Kireichi complied and attempted to move. In the next moment Kireichi came free and both girls toppled to the bottom of the chimney in a heap of ash.

"I didn't tell you to pull THAT hard," Kireichi coughs as the ash settles.

"Not my fault that you fall like dead weight," Sakura counters while trying to crawl out of the fireplace.

"I was wondering when you were going to come down," A male voice calls from the room.

(Dramatic pause! ...Sorry, I had to :P)

Kireichi nearly freezes as she awaits to be caught by Sasuke. However, when the ash cleared, she found that they were in a study and Sasuke was no where in sight.

"It was heard keeping the master out of here all this time," Sigfried comments, sitting in a nearby chair. Kireichi quickly stands up to explain herself.

"I uh, this girl, she, " Kireichi struggled, "...please dont tell him." Sigfried nearly bursts with laughter.

"I had no intention of doing so child. I find there is no crime in inviting a friend over," The old man says with comfort. Kireichi smiles, relieved, and looks over at Sakura.

"Im sorry sir," Sakura says feeling the need to explain herself as well, "I wouldn't usually enter someone's home unlawfully, but I didn't know where to go..."

"Shh," Sigfried says silencing her, "No need to explain. You've done no harm."

"I, uh...thank you," Sakura finally decided to say. Sigfried just smiled kindly at her.

"Ah, what a mess you both are," Sigfried says standing up, "How about a bath for the Lady and the little miss."

"Oh, no," Sakura says nervously, "I couldn't. I mean, it's not my home..."

"Would you rather we throw you back in the rain?" Kireichi asks annoyed. Sakura immediately shut up.

"That's what I thought," Kireichi continues, walking over to Sigfried, "Is it a clear path to the bathroom?" Sigfried nodded his head.

"The master is occupied in his room currently," Sigfried says walking over to open the door, "after you, my ladies." Kireichi smiled and immediately walked out into the hall, Sakura close behind.

"What's that pounding sound?" Sakura asks curiously as they walk down the halls. Kireichi and Sigfried stop to look at eachother.

"You dont want to know," Kireichi says simply before continuing to the last door in the hall. Sakura just passed it off, curious of what was behind the door. As soon as the door swung open, Sakura was in awe. She had never seen a bathroom so big, much less a tub the size of this one. Not to mention it had a seperate shower.

"Hn, she reacts the same way as me when I first saw it," Kireichi says amused. Sigfried chuckles lightly at the comment.

"You ladies may send your clothes down the laundry chute and I'll wash them as soon as possible," He says before turning to leave. Kireichi closes the door, leaving only her and Sakura in the masterpiece bathroom.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Kireichi asks grabbing a small robe off the hangar.

"Oh," Sakura says out of her trance,"...Uh, Where do I go?"

"You can take a bath,"Kireichi sighs, "I feel like a shower right now."

"Ok," Sakura says nodding her head. Kireichi walks behind a screen and removes her clothes replacing them with the robe.

"What are you waiting for?" Kireichi asks as she reappears from behind the screen.

"Oh, right" Sakura says as she grabs another robe to follow suit. Little did she know, that a small Uchiha crest rested on the back of the robe, right on the top.

"Don't forget to put your clothes in the laundry chute," Kireichi reminds Sakura before she disappears into the shower. Sakura does as she's told and finally settles into a nice warm bubblebath. About 20 minutes later, Kireichi was done with her shower and was content to just sit in a chair waiting for Sakura to finish.

"Why do you like him?" Kireichi finally asks out of no where.

"What?"

"Your fiance," Kireichi clarifies, "If he does these things to you, then why do you like him?" Sakura was silent. Her head was turned away and Kireichi began to not expect an answer.

"I dont really have a choice," Sakura says, lifting her head with a sad smile.

"What do you mean 'you dont have a choice.' Your a shinobi, you should be able to do what ever you want," Kireichi says, rejcting Sakura's answers.

"That's where I dont make such a good ninja...," Sakura responds, "My emotions rule me. If someone does something for me, I feel obligated to return the favor. I cant seem to escape it until I do." Kireichi thought for a second, piecing together her words.

"So the, are you saying that this is all a great big favor your returning to him?" She finally asks. Instead of giving a yes or no, Sakura decided to explain.

"About three years ago, I made it my mission to train in the hidden mist village. Unfortunately, my training gained a lot of unwanted attention. After awhile I ran into some trouble with a group of assassins. After awhile they had deemed me defenseless. I was on the brink of death. Then at the last second, I was saved. Maro was my hero. He saved my life and then continued to take care of me until I got better. I honestly didn't know how to repay him, but then he started to like me. Many other villagers even claimed that he loved me. Then after...," Sakura stops, "I dont know why I'm telling you this."

"Because, Im someone who's willing to listen," Kireichi insists. Sakura looked over and could tell Kireichi was serious. What else could she do but continue?

"Alright," Sakura says, "Eventually, Maro's feelings for me became clear. And as soon as he proposed to me, I knew what I had to do to return the favor. He saved my life. It would only be logical to repay him by giving him my life next to his."

"Eventhough, it feels more like your shackled to him? I just dont get you. You seem pretty strong to me, why were you deemed defenseless in the first place?" Kireichi says, angry at Sakura's attitude.

"I wouldn't have usually frozen up in a battle like I did. However It was the type of assassins that mattered," Sakura says turning away again.

"What kind of assassins were they?"

"They were oto-nin..." Sakura says, voice trembling.

"Sound ninjas? Why would that matter?" Sakura let out a deep breath.

"I...I loved someone once," Sakura choked out, "He was my team mate. However, he had an intense hatred for his brother and it led him to abandon Konoha, and he became a missing nin."

"He became a missing nin? But why did he leave you behind?" Kireichi asks more curious then ever.

"The feeling wasn't mutual..."

"Huh?"

"He didn't love me in return. He didn't think kindly of me at all for that matter," Sakura says sadly.

"Let me guess, he became an oto-nin." Sakura nodded slowly.

"Somethings actually been bothering me," Sakura says. Kireichi listens intently. "You know that locket you got me? What pictures do you think I'd put in it?" Sakura asks, completely switching the topic. Kireichi's thought were jumbled as she was caught off guard by the question.

"Well, I'd guess, A picture of you and this 'Maro' guy, and then a picture of your first born," Kireichi finally says.

"That's just it," Sakura says quietly, "Maro's child will not be my first born."

"What?!" Kireichi says in disbelief. "A few years after he left, the man I loved was sent by Sound to establish a sort of treaty with Konoha. He had returned and I was so happy...but he hadn't changed," Sakura says, "Some celebrated his visit, and I came to find that he was a more tolerable man when he was drunk. Eventually, that drinking led to both our undoing. I woke up beside him one night, and nine months later I had a child."

"What happened to the child?!" Kireichi blurted. Sakura stared for a second then regained her composure.

"I dont know," Sakura says shaking her head, "Neither me nor the man I loved would take the child. Only Tsunade-sama knows where she is."

"So, it was a girl?" Sakura nodded her head once more.

"I feel...horrible. I never even looked at her face. Tell me, Kireichi, If I ever met her again, do you think she would forgive me?" Sakura asks near tears. Kireichi was pained to see Sakura cry. She hesitated before giving her sure answer.

"Of course she would..." Sakura stared at Kireichi in disbelief.

"The way I see it," Kireichi continues, "It wasn't your fault. Any smart person would understand that and forgive their mother in a heartbeat. Their father on the other hand, that's a different story." Sakura had started smiling again at the comment. Kireichi had never been so happy to see it. They sat there for a good few minutes, content in eachother's company.

"So, this guy that you loved...What was his name?" Kireichi finally asks. Sakura lifted her head.

"His name was...Sa..." Suddenly the bathroom door swung open with a loud BANG.

"What the hell are you doing here."

"Sas...SASUKE?!"

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There you have it, Sasuke gets to see Sakura in the bath tub(Not that its anything he hasn't seen before, Cha!) As always, read and review! Then if you look back at that lovely little word "Impotent" some people dont know what it means. So basically, the definition is "Not getting the job done." So obviously I mean that Sasuke is not getting the job donecough, cough as far as creating an heir goes. Oh, and if you were wondering about the pounding noise...well let's just say it can be whatever your heart desires, mainly because if you dont get it, Im not willing to explain...So, until next time, Ja ne!


	11. Chapter 10

I'm back with chapter 10. I'll tell you now, Ive taken an extreme turn in where I was going orginally with this story. Most importantly I can tell you that the plot is thickening, especially at the end of this chapter.So enjoy!

* * *

What we left behind

Chapter 10

"Sas...SASUKE!?" Sakura screams, "What are you doing here!?"

"I should be the one asking you that," Sasuke replies coolly, "What are you doing in my house?"

"Your house!? I..." Sakura says, faltering as she remembers she's in the bath, "Ugh, you pervert!"

"It's not perversion if it's in my own house," Sasuke argues. Kireichi sat with her head resting on her palms, bored. Suddenly Sigfried's voice sounds from out in the hall.

"Young master, it is not proper for a man to walk in on a lady's bath," He says.

"I don't care," Sasuke says, "She's an intruder and I want her out."

"No way!" Sakura protests.

"Listen, Sakura," Sasuke persists, "Get out now or I'll drag you out by that ugly pink hair of yours." Sakura stubbornly shakes her head.

"No, I'm not getting out of this tub so long as you're looking!"

"Why?" Sasuke muses, "It's not like its anything I haven't seen before." Sakura sunk back into the tub at the comment. Unfortunately, after being ignored, that comment was the last straw.

"GET THE HELL OUT!" Kireichi says forcefully pushing Sasuke out the door. And with her super human strength, she did it with ease.

"Wait until she's decent, then she'll get out, jeez!" Kireichi continues as she slams the door in his face. Sasuke was about to yell through the door, but Sigfried stopped him.

"You know nothing about women," Sigfried sighs. "I know what's important," Sasuke defends.

"Knowing how to make a women moan or scream your name, is NOT important," Sigfried scolds, "Females have their own unwritten rules that you must follow. One of which is you do NOT invade their privacy, especially when they are exposed."

"Why are you telling me this?" Sasuke says annoyed. Sigfried sighs once more. "Did you not say that she wasn't something you hadn't seen before?" He explains, "With that alone, I have reason to believe that you were attracted to her at one point or another, enough to..."

"She was drunk," Sasuke interrupts," Even I was drunk, there's no 'attraction' in that." Sigfried gave a sympathetic smile, one that irritated Sasuke to no end.

"I'd be careful if I was you," Sigfried continues, "The young miss seems to have taken a liking to this lady... to which you have no attraction... I'll tell you now, that females travel in packs. However I have the feeling that the little miss has been a lone wolf all her life. That's probably why she defends that woman so fiercely. In a way, she reminds me of you when you were a young boy. She's determined to a point, which neither of us can understand. And even against you, she'll protect her first chance at being noticed."

"She wouldn't dare go against me," Sasuke protests, "I'm her chance at survival."

"Ah," Sigfried muses, "but in the end, which is better. To live without anything...or to die, with everything."

"She WON'T go against me," Sasuke firmly states, ignoring the last comment.

"Indeed, you don't know women at all," Sigfried ends before walking away. Sasuke was annoyed, yet he couldn't quite figure out why, so he just pointed it at what was in the bathroom currently.

"You better be dressed, because I'm coming back in," Sasuke bluntly states before opening the door. Kireichi was sitting back in the chair and Sakura was on the edge of the tub in a robe.

"Where are your clothes?" Sasuke demands, obviously not pleased with Sakura in one of his families' robes. Little did he know that both girls had heard every word spoken by him and Sigfried in the hall. Kireichi was positively irritated at Sigfried being able to read her so well, while Sakura was deep in thought about what Sasuke had said.

"Sigfried was washing her clothes," Kireichi said finally.

"We're they that dirty?" Sasuke asks cruelly, "I guess no one knows how many men have touched them." That immediately set Sakura back into her fighting mode.

"I'm more pure than you!" Sakura argues, "One slut is obviously not enough for the great Uchiha Sasuke!"

"You two know each other?" Kireichi interrupts, not really caring.

"Know each other? Kireichi, this man...I...he...this ASS is...,"Sakura tries to get out.

"Who said you could call my servant by her name?" Sasuke asks otherwise.

"Your wha..."

"Who the hell said I was your servant?!" Kireichi interrupts once more.

"Kireichi, why didn't you tell me that HE," Sakura says pointing, "Was your employer?"

"You mean Master," Sasuke corrects.

"Like hell!" Kireichi stubbornly says to Sasuke first.

"If I had known it was HIM, I wouldn't have made you go through the trouble," Sakura continues.

"I'm sorry!" Kireichi screams, "How was I supposed to know that you knew each other, and even worse, THAT YOU HATED EACHOTHER!"

"What exactly were you thinking bringing a stranger here, seeing as some of the fault lies with you, servant?" Sasuke demands out of Kireichi.

"You think I give a damn!? And I have a name, IM NOT YOUR SERVANT!"

"Your foul language better not catch on to my children," Sasuke says, now ignoring Sakura. The pressure seemed to build within her as Sasuke and Kireichi continuously argue.

"I...I HOPE YOUR CHILDREN DON'T EVEN LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO BE BORN!" Sakura yells with tears in her eyes. The outburst had silenced both Kireichi and Sasuke. Sakura took it as her chance and pushed past Sasuke out into the hall, running blindly.

"I just want to go home," Sakura sobs, "I just want to go home to Maro." Somehow, she was able to find her way to the front door. She opened it roughly, not bothering to close it after she ran out.

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"Your an ass, did you know that?" Kireichi says to Sasuke as she pushes past him herself.

"She shouldn't have been here in the first place," Sasuke retorts," What were you thinking?"

"She was out in the rain, upset by her fiancé, plus she was crying! What was I supposed to do?" Kireichi asks, glaring.

"You are supposed to leave her to solve her own problems. Caring is a weakness, I thought you wanted to be stronger." Kireichi hesitated once he said it. She herself had learned caring was indeed a weakness.

"What will you do?" She says simply. This time Sasuke hesitated, riddled with confusion.

"What will you do when you do have a kid?" Kireichi clarifies, raising her voice," When they cry at night because of nightmares, will you just leave them? When they are upset that you only come home every so often, will you just ignore them? When they kill themselves because they find their existence meaningless to you, will you just pass it off as a flaw? After all, kids are replaceable, right?"

"I don't see what..."

"Its a father like you, I hoped I never had," Kireichi interrupts, "If I had a father, He'd actually care for me. He'd care when I cry and he'd care when I'm upset, but most of all, he'd protect me himself, NOT hire some random orphan that reminds him of himself to do it!" With that Kireichi ran away herself, back to her room.

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Here she was again, back in the rain right outside her house. It was like the trip to Sasuke's was only a bad dream. The only proof of it was the robe she still wore. "Why do I feel so miserable," Sakura says to herself," I should be happy, I'm getting married. I'm going to have a family."

_"it feels more like your shackled to him"_ Kireichi's word repeated in her mind.

"I'm repaying him," Sakura tries to convince herself, "I have to..." The more she seemed to say it, the more it seemed to not be true.

"No...I'm done repaying him," Sakura says determined. Could she do it though? Could she really break off her engagement with Maro after almost a year? She was going to try. She didn't love him, her heart was not in it. She had tried, but it's as if her heart was missing. As if it was left with someone a long time ago.

"It needs to be done," She finally told herself," I refuse to live a lie."

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Kireichi had made it back to her room, and immediately began packing what little she had. If Sasuke wanted kids, he could take care of them himself.

"I'm not going to be his stand in. I don't want to see the heartbreak of children who are nothing to their father. It's worse than being fatherless," Kireichi tells herself.

"I couldn't agree with you more, little miss," Sigfried's voice came from the doorway. Kireichi didn't even bother to look at him.

"Was he always like this?" Kireichi finds herself asking.

"No. He was more caring before the massacre." Kireichi stopped to look at him.

"Massacre?"

"Yes," Sigfried continues, "The master's entire clan was murdered by his own brother. Since then, he's found it his purpose to hunt down and kill his brother. As the next in line to the clan, it is also his responsibility to revive the clan. You must forgive him that he cannot put much thought into it. He knows he needs an heir, but he's too blinded by revenge to know what that entitles. Do you understand?"

"I guess..." Kireichi says quietly.

"Well then, before you leave I can promise you that I will try my hardest to get master Sasuke to understand."

"I thought you said it wasn't wise to call him by his first name," Kireichi says grabbing the rest of her stuff.

"The way he's acting now, do you think he's even worthy of an honorable title?" Sigfried asks in return. Kireichi smirks.

"No, I guess your right," She says.

"That's what I thought. Now, may I be so kind as to escort you to the door?" Sigfried offers.

"That'd be nice."

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It was odd how quiet it was as Sakura entered the house. The only noise she heard was faint mumbling coming from upstairs. She assumed it's where Maro was. If he was with another girl, she frankly didn't care anymore. She'd barge in anyways to resign her place as his fiancé. However, as she got closer she realized that there were two male voices. One was Maro, another she didn't know.

"What's going on? Who's he talking to," Sakura says creeping closer to the room it was coming from. The door was opened slightly allowing a little light to spill out.

"Not much longer," She heard Maro say, "She'll give in soon."

"She?" Sakura thought. Were they talking about her?

"I hope you are correct, Maro. We expect a son within the next year," The other voice spoke. Sakura tried to maneuver so that she could see the other man. She was surprised when she caught a glimpse through the door's opening.

"The sound ninja from the hotel!" Sakura thought confused. Suddenly, it pieced together. Maro hadn't saved her bravely back when she was attacked. He had been on their side.

"You'll have your son, one strong enough to inhabit the spirit of Orochimaru-sama," Maro says in reassurance.

"We better. We cannot leave Orochimaru-sama in the spirit world forever." Sakura backed up out of shock. They were using her, Tsunade's apprentice, to create a new body for Orochimaru. She suddenly found herself in a more dangerous game than before.

"If you fail," Sakura hears the sound ninja say, "We'll have to resort to the lost Uchiha child and wait until she matures." It was like a smack in the face to Sakura.

"My, my daughter's in danger," Sakura thought, "I'm in danger!" Before she knew it, Sakura was racing down the stairs. She had to get away from here. Just as she made it to the front door, she ran into something.

"I'm so sorry you had to hear all of that, Sakura," Maro says gripping Sakura's arm, "But I'm afraid I can't let you go now. For some reason, only one betrayed thought ran through her mind.

_"Sasuke...Did you know?"_

_

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_What'd you think? The story's going to get more dramatic from now on. Read/Review. I'll try to update as soon as possible! 

-Iya Kari


	12. Chapter 11

Okay, as an advanced warning, it is short, and I am so sorry. I guess my carefree nature to write just isn't what it used to be. However, dont worry, I do plan to finish this story, whether it takes a few months or more. I just hope you stick with me until then.

* * *

What We Left Behind

Chapter 11

Kireichi froze, only a foot out the door.

"Is something wrong," Sigfried asks. Kireichi turns slighty towards him.

"I have a bad feeling, thats all," Kireichi says taking another step.

"Ah, well I hope its nothing too bad," Sigfried says reassuringly, "Do come back and visit." Kireichi gave a brief nod before beginning to head out.

"Hold it!" Sasuke says coming up behind Sigfried, "You still have a sentence to finish." Kireichi only turned to simply glare at him. He infuriated her so much.

_" So arrogant, cold hearted, emotionless, egotistical..." _A voice seemed to rant in her head.

"I can finish it later," Kireichi says not willing to argue, "I have some place I need to be." Without another word, she hopped off the front porch and ran away. It was important that she get back to Anne. She figured that was what she was uneasy about. After all, she had never been away from Anne this long. However, deep down inside, she knew there was something else that was wrong.

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"So this was your plan all along?" Sakura asks as Maro throws her onto the couch.

"I'm afraid so," Maro sighs, " And you weren't supposed to know about it. This makes things complicated."

"Why me?" Sakura had been dieing to ask the question. Now was as good a time as any.

"Because," Maro states, "You're the apprentice of Tsunade, one of the three legendary sannin. With your strength passed on, a child would be powerful enough to accept Orochimaru-sama's soul. Any other child we used, died instantly." Sakura froze.

"You've done this before. You've killed innocent children all in the hope of resurrecting Orochimaru?!" Maro used his hand to lift Sakura's chin.

"It's no concern of yours. _Our_ child wont die. No need to worry your pretty little head over it," Maro says. Sakura violently jerks her head away.

"Like hell I'm having a child with you!" Sakura spat. Maro only chuckled.

"That is no matter. After all, any good ninja knows to have a back up plan."

"That sound ninja," Sakura began," He said if you failed..."

"We'd have to turn to the lost Uchiha child," Maro finishes, "Yes that's what he said. Oh, but that child is yours too, isn't it? The one that you coldly left years ago." Sakura wincd at his words.

"I didn't..."

"Oh, of course you did!" Maro says amused, "He didn't love you, you couldn't love him. The only logical choice is to drop the kid and run, right?"

"No...I...," Sakura tried to say as tears began spilling from her eyes.

"In the end Sakura, it comes down to being you...or her. Either way Orochimaru will be revived. You just happen to have a choice." Sakura continued to cry as she sat on the couch in her house. The house she was supposed to find as a warm, safe haven, but now it seemed like nothing more than a dank, dark prison. She already knew the answer.

"Me...It'll be me..."

"Good girl," Maro says patting her head, "You've saved us some trouble."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Anne, I'm back, "Kireichi called into the abandoned shack in the alleyway.

"I Thought you were in jail," A small girl says appearing out of the shadow.

"Yeah, its a long story," Kireichi says trying to force a smile. She suddenly found the small girl, Anne, embracing her.

"I'm glad you're back," Anne says happily. Kireichi didn't reply, too much was on her mind.

"Is something bothering you?" Anne says pulling away. Kireichi was brought back.

"Not really, just a feeling." Anne looked at Kireichi curiously for a moment.

"You know," Anne begins, "When I get a bad feeling, I check everyone I care about and make sure they're ok. Like when you were in jail." Kireichi was able to smirk at Anne's attitude.

"Maybe I'll do that," Kireichi says heading back out, "Wanna come with?" Anne's eyes lit up.

"You mean it?" She asks excitedly. Kireichi gave a brief nod.

"You can meet my new friend. I think you'll like her. Keep your cloak on, though." This time Anne nodded. She quickly grabbed her small cloak off the wall, putting it on. Then she raced out the door after Kireichi getting a firm hold on her hand for comfort.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well isn't this convenient?" The sound ninja from before says, walking into the living room. Sakura looked at him from her spot on the couch. Maro was just leaning against the wall.

"A little change of plans," the sound ninja continues, "She comes with us. Its getting too dangerous around here. It seems the hokage has someone out getting all the criminals. We'd be wise to leave before we are next." An idea immediately sparked in Sakura's mind.

_"That's Sasuke who's doing Tsunade's dirty work, isn't it?" _Sakura thought, _"Maybe, If I can get them to stay a few more days. Tsunade will catch on and send Sasuke." _Maro nodded to the sound ninja.

_"Wait," _Sakura paused mentally, _"Unless Sasuke knew. If he was on their side the whole time. What if...he's still a traitor..." _Sakura quickly blinked away the oncoming tears. Maro somehow caught the action, and proceeded with suspicion.

"Is something wrong?" The sound nin asked. Maro just looked at Sakura for an answer.

"I dont know if I'm well enough to travel right now, "Sakura says falling back on the couch, faking fatigue.

"In that case, we'll carry you," Maro says simply.

_"Damn it, no!"_ Sakura screamed mentally.

"Anything you want to take with?" Maro says pushing himself off the wall. Sakura had to think quick. There had to be a way to escape. There had to be a way to save both her and her daughter. Then an idea struck her.

_"I cant believe I'm about to do this," _Sakura thought.

"Actually, I was hoping for us to get some _alone_ time before we left," Sakura says rubbing her legs together suggestively. Maro returned her gaze with a hidden lust.

_"I dont believe it, I'm such a slut. Forgive me mother and father," _She silently ranted in her head. The sound ninja caught the look Maro was giving her. He sighed turning to walk out.

"Make it quick," The sound ninja says closing the front door after him. Maro nearly pounced on Sakura, immediately covering her with kisses.

"Uh, Maro," Sakura tried to say over his flurry of movement, "The bedroom." Maro immediately understood her meaning. He quickly picked her up, bridal style, and raced upstairs. He unceremoniously threw her on the bed, not bothering to close the door. Sakura honestly felt trapped. She was hoping for someone to save her within those...oh, ten seconds. She suddenly regretted her decision, as Maro continued to ravish her.

_"Some one help me!" _Sakura screamed silently.

"Get off her!" Sakura heard a voice say as Maro was tackled off of her and onto the floor. Sakura immediately curled up into a ball, closing her eyes. Whatever was going on, she didn't want to see it. Suddenly she heard the window shatter, and Maro scream. Sakura still didn't dare open her eyes.

"Are you ok?" The voice from before asks. Sakura hesitantly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry with tears, but she could still make out the figure.

(THE END)

(Nah, I'm not that cruel)

"Kireichi!" Sakura says launching her self at the girl and clinging for dear life. The tears flowed freely now, as Sakura found her self hugging the girl for the second time tonight.

"Thank you," Sakura quietly sobs. Kireichi just stood still, waiting for Sakura to pull herself together. After awhile Sakura's tears began to lessen.

"You could have gotten hurt," Sakura says slightly upset.

"Not really, seeing as I just threw your fiance out the window. Unfortunately, it didn't kill him damn it!"

"Why did you come back here?" Sakura asks loosening her grip on the girl.

"Where else would I go? I was irritated by his lack of common courtesy. No way I'm stay under the same roof as him tonight. I wouldn't count on getting your clothes back, by the way, "Kireichi says trying to cheer her up. Sakura gave a short laugh.

"Wait," Sakura suddenly remembers, "There was another, a sound ninja."

"We took care of him," Kireichi reassures her.

"We?" Sakura looked at her confused. That's when a small cloaked figure walked into the room.

"Sakura," Kireichi says first, "I'm about to show you something that nobody else knows about. Just as a warning ahead of time, there is no reason to be afraid. This is my adoptive little sister, Anne." Just as she finished speaking, the small figure dropped the cloak covering it. Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my...Oh my god."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sigfried watched with amusement as Sasuke paced back and forth in his study.

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd miss her that much," He says in a nearby chair.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke replies grumpily.

"Why its obvious, young master, you miss the young girl's company. You finally had someone worth arguing with," Sigfried points out. Sasuke stopped pacing and turned to glare.

"Dont let your delusions rule you. I've never let anyone off of their sentence, and I'm not going to start with her!"

"If you had wanted to stop her, you were perfectly capable. The fact that you didn't, well, is it possible you have a certain fondness for her?" Sigfried continues.

"No," Sasuke simply says before storming out of the study. Sigfried simply sighs, now alone in the room. Sasuke on the other hand was on his way out. He figured the only way to show he wasn't fond of Kireichi was to drag her back to serve out her sentence.

* * *

Ok, what'd you think? Did it quench your thirst for more...or atleast hold you off for a bit until I can get another chapter going? I hope so. I'll keep this story as a top priority for when I get free time.

-Iya Kari


	13. Chapter 12

Hey, sorry for the wait. A lot of stuff has been going down, but you're not here for my excuses. You are here for the story, so enjoy!

But first, there are some questions people have been asking. So I'm going to give them a shot with my best explanations possible.

First of all, pertaining to Anne, we don't know anything about her yet. So for those of you who think you may have missed something, you haven't.

Secondly, some of you want to know why Sakura isn't living up to her title of "hokage's apprentice." The truth is, I make her tough where I can guys, but mainly its because she's been betrayed once more, by Maro this time and not Sasuke. So in a way, she's reverting back into her helpless weak self from time to time. I promise I'll try to do better.

Thirdly, Some of you are glaring me down for having the possibility of Sasuke's er...woman, become pregnant. This chapter should make you happy.

And lastly, those with questions such as: When are they going to get together? When will they find out that Kireichi is their daughter? (I never said she was for certain now did I? Snicker) My only word of advice is "be patient." I myself am not quite sure when it'll happen. And I pride myself in the fact that people like that the story is taking time and development instead of Sasuke and Sakura just jumping into each other's arms. Plus, honestly, I couldn't write a short story if my life depended on it.

* * *

What We Left Behind

Chapter 12

Sakura gave a quick look outside before closing the blinds.

"I don't know how much time we might have before they come back," She says while checking another window.

"We'll be fine," Kireichi says sitting on the couch with Anne covered in her cloak. Sakura began pacing.

"We should leave," Sakura continues.

"We can handle ourselves," Kireichi says calmly, arms crossed. Anne gave a brief nod from under her hood.

"You," Sakura emphasizes, "are children!" At that moment Kireichi gave Sakura the dirtiest glare ever. Sakura nearly returned it with equal challenge.

"You think I'm weak?" Kireichi asks dangerously.

"I think your young!"

"And youth is a sign of weakness?"

"Youth is a sign of inexperience." At that Kireichi jumps to her feet, looking menacing.

"Guaranteed you no nothing about being alone. You've had someone there all your life. You have no idea how strong you become being on your own. I'd be dead otherwise!" Kireichi snaps, "We suffer because of our bonds!" Sakura gave a sarcastic laugh.

"Now you just sound like Sas..."she stops. Kireichi stops as well in puzzlement. Slowly Sakura turned to look at Kireichi examining her.

"Your eyes...they're green, "Sakura says as if it meant something.

"Yeah...I was born like that," Kireichi says, irritated at the sudden subject change.

"And your hair, its black."

"Are you blind?" Kireichi asks in disbelief.

Sakura thought. Its like a sudden picture of Sasuke flashes beside Kireichi's face. It is then that she remembers something. 

"Sakura, its likely the child will be black haired with black eyes." Tsunade said seriously to her student.

"A run of the mill Uchiha, huh?" Sakura asked in an emotionless tone.

"Uchiha genes are pretty much dominant to others by far," Tsunade explained.

"Well, if I hadn't already been certain that I wasn't keeping it, I still would have made the same choice because of that statement."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"Uchihas are obvious, as you said, with black eyes. I will walk down the street with no such thing," Sakura clarified, "I will not settle for being known as the whore who slept with THE Sasuke Uchiha!"

Sakura gave one last glance at Kireichi before turning away. She took a moment to herself to think.

Sakura thought sadly. 

"We should at least inform the hokage," Sakura says changing the subject once more. Anne sighs.

"Not such a good idea," Kireichi states, "There are hundreds of criminals here. Who knows where they may have spies. We don't want anyone to hear the Hokage's grand scheme to apprehend as many as possible."

"You are well informed."

"I'm arrogant, not stupid!" Kireichi says taking offense.

"Could you two please stop fighting," Anne says quietly from the couch. Kireichi calms down slightly at her words and sits back on the couch.

"Which reminds me," Sakura says pointing at Anne, "What are we going to do about her?" The movement of Anne's hood let them know she was looking between Sakura and Kireichi.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Kireichi asks, "Anne is my responsibility, not yours." Sakura sighs in frustration.

"You're in a tough situation," Sakura says, "As the Godaime hokage's apprentice, It is my responsibility to assist in such matters." Kireichi gave a doubtful look. Anne shifted on the couch.

"Would it hurt for you to just accept my help?" Sakura says becoming irritated. Kireichi hesitated, as if something was distracting her. They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Sakura froze immediately.

"You don't think they are back already, do you?" Anne says huddling into the couch.

"And you think they'd knock? No, its something much worse," Kireichi says arms crossed. Sakura looks at her.

"What could be worse?" Sakura asks.

"You don't want to know. Just don't answer it," Kireichi says. Sakura silently agrees and waits for the person to leave. It didn't work.

"Sakura, I know your in there," A voice calls from outside, "I've come for the girl." A dark look passes over Sakura's face. Almost immediately Sakura takes off towards the door.

"What, are you crazy?!" Kireichi says jumping up again, "Anne, stay here." Kireichi kept after Sakura.

Sakura thought. The moment she opens the door to Sasuke, she aims a punch. Unfortunately, Sasuke catches it before contact. 

"What's your problem?" Sakura didn't answer, but instead tries for a kick. Sasuke catches it with his other hand.

"You sorry son of a bitch," Sakura says angrily, "You were always a loyal dog to sound!"

"What?!" Sasuke says confused. Sakura uses her leg and arm to push him back away.

"Did you know?!" Sakura says tears stinging her eyes.

"I'll tell you now, I have no idea what you are talking about!" Sasuke says.

"Did you know that they were trying to bring Orochimaru back in a new body?" Sakura clarifies. Sasuke's eyes widen a bit at that.

"Where did you hear that?" Sasuke asks.

"Tell me if you knew!" Sakura demands.

"Tell me where you heard it!"

"How about you both shut up!" Kireichi says appearing in the doorway.

"There you are," Sasuke says switching his attention to her, "You have a sentence to fulfill."

"I said I'd do it later," Kireichi argues.

"God damn it! Sasuke don't ignore me!" Sakura yells, "Tell me if you knew or not!"

"I figured they'd do it eventually, but I know nothing of it." He finally answers. Sakura hesitates before accepting. She turns to head back inside.

"You never answered my question," Sasuke asks rudely stopping her. Sakura stares at the ground as she slightly turns to him.

"It doesn't matter where I heard it. Like you said, it doesn't involve you. Only me," Sakura says before disappearing inside. Kireichi looks at her suspiciously as she passes, but then turns to address Sasuke.

"I'm afraid I still cannot go with you," Kireichi says crossing her arms, "I'm needed here."

"I will not let you off your sentence."

"Well then put me under house arrest here," Kireichi suggests.

"No," Sasuke says flat out, "I will not watch you at another's' house. I have things I need to tend to."

"You mean that woman you are with every night?" Kireichi says hitting the nail dead on.

"It is none of your concern," Sasuke says defensively.

"It was my concern since I was hired to watch after a kid that was never coming," Kireichi says trying to get under his skin.

"What are you talking about?"

"You mean you really don't know?" Kireichi says slightly amused. She takes Sasuke's silence as a sign that he was clueless.

"I'll admit that I was snooping around your house. I find it peculiar that someone has been hiding birth control pills behind the towels in the bathroom. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" Sasuke's eyes narrow. In fact he doesn't even answer. He turns on his heels and heads straight for his home. Kireichi knew she had made him angry, because she knew part of him doesn't want to believe it. At least he had forgotten about her sentence for now. Kireichi closes the door and heads back into the living room where Sakura sat next to Anne on the couch.

"Speaking of which," Kireichi says addressing Sakura, "You never did explain why those guys were after you." Sakura sighed while leaning back in the couch.

"Fine, I guess it involves you now, anyways," Sakura explains, "Orochimaru is..."

"I'm aware of everything there is to know about Orochimaru," Kireichi says, "That doesn't explain why they want you." Sakura pauses to look at Kireichi a moment.

"Alright...Well then I assume you know that he is rumored to be dead or barely living within someone else's body." Kireichi gave a nod.

"Therefore, he needs a body. And they just happen to want a strong body, which I can provide if..."

"If you have a kid, right?" Kireichi interrupts. Sakura nods her head. Unexpectedly Kireichi begins laughing. Sakura looked at her confused.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing. Its just everyone seems to be wanting to have a kid lately."

"We have to stop it," Anne spoke. Sakura and Kireichi both turn towards the small-cloaked figure.

"Stop what?" Kireichi asks curiously.

"We cannot allow Orochimaru to possess a new body, it is a danger not only to others but to the majority of Sound who are not our enemies," Anne says.

"She's got a bit of a political mind," Sakura says motioning to Anne.

"Indeed..."Kireichi says, "However, what is our plan for now? We don't know if or when they'll come back and we cant risk getting help."

"And we don't know how long it'll be before that man comes back for Kireichi," Anne chimes in.

"Okay, dually noted," Sakura says in her brainstorming mode.

"We're all female," Sakura says.

"That doesn't make us less capable!" Kireichi says.

"No," Anne says, "but many think that and thus it gives us the element of surprise." Kireichi calms down a little bit with that explanation.

"I say..." Sakura began.

"We reinforce the house and sit in wait," Kireichi finishes. Sakura hesitates for a moment.

"Actually," she continues, "I was going to say we order Pizza." Kireichi raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"Is pizza a type of weapon?" Anne asks innocently.

"No, no, no, its food," Sakura clarifies.

"And how is that a plan?" Kireichi asks.

"I don't think we should worry about it. We should relax, order a pizza, watch some movies, have some of my friends over," Sakura says, "That way we look like we don't think they are coming back. They'll think we are unaware, but we're not. Plus the friends are added help." There was a moment of silence before Kireichi spoke.

"That may just be crazy enough to work. Who did you have in mind?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Sasuke stood in the bathroom of his own home, holding a small bottle. Kireichi had been right. It wasn't long before Tami came walking in.

"Oh, I thought you had gone out," She says with a smile.

"I want you out," Sasuke nearly whispers. Tami gave a look of confusion.

"Is something the matter?" Sasuke turns so that she could see what he was holding. She pauses, suddenly fearful. Sasuke threw the bottle against the wall in rage.

"I want you out, now!" Tami jumped at his words.

"Please, I wont..." Tami began. Sasuke gave her no room to speak.

"You have betrayed me once. I will not let it happen again!" At this Sasuke grabs Tami's arm forcefully and pulls her from the room and down the hall.

"Is there anything you will be needing," Sigfried asks as the pass him.

"Anything of hers, I want thrown out!" Sasuke commands. Sigfried gives a bow before disappearing. When they reach the door, Sasuke carelessly throws her out to the ground.

"Don't ever think of talking to me again!" After slamming the door on her, Sasuke storms back to his study. He slams the door there as well. Sigfried sighs as he passes with Tami's stuff.

"Sometimes he still acts like such a child."

* * *

"I hate you..." Kireichi says cross-legged on the floor.

"Oh lighten up. You agreed to the plan." Sakura says.

"And since when did plan of 'friends' include their kids?" Kireichi says glaring at the other children present. Particularly a blonde haired boy.

"I hate it just as much as you Kireichi," Naito says, arms crossed.

"You have no right to call me by my name."

"You guys get along as poorly as ever," May says by her brother.

"Shut up idiot!" Kireichi says.

"Why don't you make me!" May says jumping to her feet. Her brother tries to get her back down, but to no avail.

"How about we all calm down," Ino says holding a box of pizza, "Hey Sakura, since when he you been hanging out with Kireichi?" Sakura turns from another box a pizza.

"Well, I guess you could say I kind of saved her from Sasuke."

"Oh, the irony," Ino says dramatically.

"What?" Sakura asks.

"Oh nothing!"

Ino thought, 

"Ino?" Sakura's voice brought her back.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The kids are hungry. You better feed them soon."

"Oh, right," Ino says placing the box of pizza in the middle of the kids. Everyone took a piece and began to chow down. Except Kireichi of course. She proceeded to peel off the cheese and eat the tomato sauce off of the crust.

"You have issues," Kiro says nibbling his pizza. Kireichi turns on him, irritated that her eating had been interrupted. In the next moment, what was left of Kireichi's pizza was now slowly sliding down Kiro's face.

"Food fight!" May announces chucking another piece at Kireichi. Luckily, Kireichi ducks in time, but she could hold a grudge. She grabs for another piece to throw.

"Hey, hey, what's going on here!?" Sakura demands. Unfortunately, no one listens and Sakura is hit with a stray piece of pizza. Everyone pauses afterwards. After a long moment of silence, Ino begins laughing.

"The pizza makes you look better, forehead!" She never even saw the pizza coming as Sakura skillfully hit her in the face. The food fight starts up again. As you can imagine, a very confused Hinata came out of the kitchen.

* * *

Sigfried carefully opens the door to Sasuke's study. He was wary of the fact that Sasuke might still be upset. Fortunately that wasn't the case. Sasuke sat at his desk head down. He wasn't moving, but he was awake. His hand loosely held a bottle of alcohol with a half filled glass.

"Somehow," Sigfried sighs, "I don't think any amount of alcohol could truly get you drunk. And I see you once again did not return with Kireichi." Sasuke doesn't say anything about it. Carefully he pulls the bottle away from Sasuke, as well as the cup, and places it at another table further away.

"They must be so disappointed in me," Sasuke murmurs. Sigfried turns his attention back to him.

"Who?"

"My family," Sasuke continues, "I haven't even killed Itachi. Then give me a small task such as reviving the clan and I cant even do that without obstacles."

"Beggars cant be choosers, Master Sasuke."

"What did you say?" Sasuke asks lifting his head slightly.

"I said, beggars cant be choosers," Sigfried repeats, " People have given you the world, but you still treat them as nothing."

"They weren't good enough," Sasuke defends.

"No, I'm afraid, master Sasuke, _you_ are the one who was not good enough." Sasuke sat up glaring at the old man.

"To accept people for their flaws. To be happy with what you get no matter how small. That is true goodness. I'm afraid your friends finally saw you for what you were. You weren't good enough for their compassion or attention anymore," Sigfried says before heading towards the door. Sasuke stood still until Sigfried left. Then, once more in a fit of fury, he threw a nearby vase at the wall, shattering it.

* * *

Everyone sat around the TV watching Bambi. Kireichi watched disgusted as May ate a piece of cheese that had stuck to the wall. Then there was Kiro who sat poking at Anne in her cloak.

"Why do you keep yourself in a cloak? Are you hideous or something?" Kireichi turns away from May ready to make Kiro regret those words. However, someone beat her to it.

"Leave her alone," Naito says smacking Kiro's hand away from Anne. Kiro gives a disgruntled look, but goes back to watching the movie.

"You protect her even though you don't know her," Kireichi says, "Why?" He hesitates before answering her.

"I know what its like to be picked on, remember? Its not fun." With those words Kireichi feels an emotion she never had before, guilt. She didn't like what Kiro had been doing to Anne, but she herself had done such things to Naito. She gulps before saying something.

"I'm sorry..." Kireichi apologizes. Naito looks in disbelief.

"I guess I can kinda be a jerk sometimes. Thank you for sticking up for Anne." Naito blinked once as if he still didn't believe THE Kireichi was saying this.

"Uh...your welcome."

* * *

How did you like it? A break from any major plot twists. Well, read/review, you know the drill. School starts up again for me in one more day, but I'm doing better with the writing because I have a hunk-o'-junk 10 year old laptop that gives me the minimum use of WordPad. I can write where I want, but how I transfer it from there to an Internet computer is a complex process as it is. Well, until next time, Ja ne!

-Iya Kari


	14. Chapter 13

Hey, guess who's back? I know you've all been waiting, and I hope this quenches your thirst. However, I will warn you, this is where everything pretty much hits the fan. Many things are happening at once, so I hope you can keep up

* * *

What We Left Behind

Chapter 13

Sakura observed Anne as the children began to fall asleep.

_"What if she's a danger to us all?" _She thought, _"I don't like to see Kireichi burdened so." _

"What's up forehead? You're staring," Ino says next to her.

"Nothing," Sakura says with a smile, "Just thinking, how we are all like a little family." Ino smiled sadly while looking at Kireichi.

"Yeah I guess..."

"Huh, what's bothering you?" Sakura asked. Ino took a last look to make sure the children were sleeping.

"Sakura, there's something you need to know..."

* * *

Kireichi opened her eyes slightly to see sun pouring in through the living room window. She had fallen asleep propped against the wall. The next thing she noticed was a weight on her arm. Ever so slowly she turned to see Naito fast asleep on her should. Irritated, she pushed him in the opposite direction. He fell on the other 2 sleeping bodies, May and Kiro. That action woke them all up. 

"Huh, what's going on?" Naito asks confused.

"Just because I apologized last night, doesn't mean you can get closed to me, weirdo!" Kireichi says angrily.

"Cant breath," A hoarse voice whispered. Naito looked over to see that he was lying on Kiro's chest.

"Sorry!" He says, quickly getting up.

"Where is everyone?" May asks on the other side of Kiro. Kireichi stopped glaring at Naito to take a look around. They were the only 4 in the room.

"Where's Anne?!" Kireichi says quickly getting up.

"She was with us last night," Naito says. Kireichi ran all over the house ending in the kitchen to find Ino and Hinata asleep on the counter with unfinished food. The others followed.

"Mother, wake up!" May and Kiro say, shaking their mother's shoulder. Naito did the same. Slowly they began to move.

"You guys are up early," Ino says rubbing her eyes.

"Is there something wrong?" Hinata asks taking in their distraught looks.

"Anne's missing," Kireichi states quickly.

"Now that I think of it, where's Sakura-san?" May asks looking around. Ino froze as she remembered what she had told Sakura.

**/Flashback/**

"Sakura, there's something you need to know. And Tsunade-sama made us, me, naruto, and everyone else swear to never say a word, but...you're my best friend." Ino said quickly.

"What is it?" Sakura asks. Ino took a deep breath before spilling her guts.

"Well, the reason you and Kireichi may be getting along is, could be, it might..."

"Just say it," Sakura says harshly.

"Sakura, Kireichi's your daughter...Yours and Sasuke's daughter to be exact." She finished before quickly getting up and going to the kitchen. She could bear to see Sakura's reaction.

**/End Flashback/**

"I don't know where Sakura is," Ino says sadly. Kireichi eyes widened a fraction. Without another word she ran out of the house.

"Hey, Kireichi where are you going?" Naito called after her. Kireichi didn't answer, she just ran to the only place she could think of, the Hokage tower.

* * *

As expected, Sigfried found Sasuke still in his study. As he entered Sasuke had his back turned to him staring out the only window in the room. 

"Where is she?" Sasuke says quietly.

"Pardon?" Sigfried asks.

"Her, 13 years ago. people thought I knew nothing but I at least heard she had been a girl," Sasuke clarifies.

"Young master, are you speaking of the incident all those years ago?" Instead of really answering Sigfried's question, Sasuke seemed to continue thinking out loud.

"If she were here, the task would be done. They wouldn't expect me to have anymore, and there would be no complicated woman involved. They are such traitorous things."

"I'm afraid I do not understand," Sigfried says.

"I'm going to the hokage tower, I want to know." Sasuke says turning around and heading for the door.

"Young master?" Sigfried asks as Sasuke walks past him.

"Like you said, beggars can't be choosers."

* * *

Kireichi had been so panicked that she had even climbed the stairs 2 at a time. You'd think she would have lost her energy by the time she stood at the door of the hokage's office, but she was only getting started. She kicked in the door, not caring if it had been unlocked. She found Sakura in there, standing in front of the hokage who sat soberly at her desk. 

"Where's Anne?" Kireichi asks immediately.

"You're lucky I don't arrest you, Kireichi," Tsunade says.

"Give me back my little sister!" Kireichi yells.

"She was Orochimaru's daughter! That's far from being your sister!" Tsunade says standing up angrily.

"You don't have to worry about her anymore," Sakura says calmly, still turned away.

"She's all I had!" Kireichi says, tears beginning to sting her eyes.

"She's not anymore," Sakura says turning towards Kireichi. She had been crying as well, but she was...smiling. "You said that if you had been my daughter, you wouldn't have been angry if I came back to you. Kireichi, you are my daughter, you always have been." Kireichi's eyes widened.

"You can stay with her from now on, Kireichi," Tsunade says.

"You said my parents were dead," Kireichi says with her head lowered so that her bangs covered her eyes.

"The truth is, their not." Tsunade says

"And my father?" Kireichi asks quietly.

"You've met him, Uchiha Sasuke." At that, Kireichi began to shake uncontrollably. She thought her life had been bad at first, but now. Now she understood. She understood why Sasuke and Sakura got along so poorly. She understood she had been living a lie and that she was related to people she couldn't stand anymore.

"We can go home now Kireichi," Sakura says still smiling. Tsunade sat down again, thinking it'd be settled.

"No..." Sakura's smile faltered.

"Your not my mother," Kireichi says lifter her head. The tears were still flowing, but her eyes were angry. "My mother would have never taken my only friend away from me!"

"Kireichi, I wanted you to be safe. Anaco was endangering us all. You shouldn't have to be responsible for her." Sakura says in her defense.

"How dare you call her that. Her name is Anne!" Kireichi screams, "I should have known better than to have gotten close to you. I told you we suffer because of our bonds, and now that you've betrayed me, you've proven it true." Kireichi turned around and ran.

"Kireichi!" Sakura and Tsunade called after her.

* * *

"Naito, where are you going?" Ino asks as her son runs out the door. 

"I'm going to find Kireichi and Anne." Kiro and May took a moment to look at each other before they ran off after him.

"May! Kiro!" Hinata says worried.

"Why are you coming?" Naito asks as the twins catch up with him.

"We want to know what's going on too!" May says. Her brother nods in agreement. Naito stopped abruptly.

"You two should just go home." May and Kiro stare at him.

"I have a feeling that we are going to become split. Kireichi wont be on Konoha's side anymore. I want to follow her, for some reason, I don't know. I know Sakura took Anne. I wasn't completely asleep. Kireichi is devoted to her. Its that kind of devotion I want to have one day, to be a hero. Maybe I'll learn if I follow her. So you can go back and tell my mother, I don't care, it wont stop me." Naito says. May and Kiro just stood there.

"What?" Naito says.

"And you think you're leaving with out us?" Kiro says.

"You've got to be kidding me," Naito says.

"I want to go on an adventure," Kiro says.

"Me too," May says," I want to be a great rogue ninja who travels the world!"

"May, that's a little over doing it," Her brother comments.

"You two realize you may never see your parents again," Naito says seriously. The twins drop their humor.

"It will be sort of sad to leave mother and father, but it's my dream," May says.

"And father told us always to follow our dreams and friends," Kiro adds. Naito took a deep breath.

"Then its settled, lets go."

* * *

"Keep an eye out," Tsunade says to the group of ninja. 

"Hai!" Just as they disappeared a new figure walked in through the kicked in door.

"Well this is unexpected," Tsunade say taking in Sasuke.

"I came asking for information," Sasuke states simply. He notices Sakura sitting in the corner with her head down.

"Oh really, and what information would that be," Tsunade asks.

"The location of my daughter, born 13 years ago," He says simply. Sakura's head shot up.

"And since when do you care about such information?" Tsunade says, a little shocked from his request.

"She is my rightful heir, is she not?" Sasuke says.

"That's not what you said we she was born, bastard!" Sakura yells from her seat.

"I'm not her to argue with you. I'm here to find me an heir."

"How can you call her that when you treated her like a slave!" Sakura says angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke says annoyed.

"You want your heir? She ran out of here nearly 10 minutes ago. She was named Kireichi."

"You've got to be kidding me," Sasuke says narrowing his eyes.

"Why would I lie when I only found out myself!" Sakura says.

"Enough, both of you," Tsunade commands, "we have found ourselves in a dangerous situation. I was informed that ninja from the sound village have been seen marching right to this village. So if you'd act like shinobi right night, we can worry about Kireichi later!" Sakura's eyes widened.

"I broke my agreement, they're going after Kireichi!"

* * *

Kireichi had known where they'd keep Anne. In the same prison they had put her in herself. Memories of the sleazy guards had added extra oomph to her step. Now she stood in the dark hallways of it. She had been able to take out Jungo and Gair this time. Their bloody bodies laid near the entrance. She had pretty much gutted them. She would be a wanted murderer now. At least now, no more prisoners would know the cruelty of their hands. Many prisoners reached out to her as she walked past the bars, but she was only looking for one. As she reached the end of the row, she found her. 

"Anne," Kireichi calls to the little body huddle in the corner. A round little face with yellow eyes and black hair turned to her. They had taken her cloak. Kireichi used the keys she had taken to quickly open the barred door.

"Kireichi!" Anne cries running into her arms. Kireichi hugged her tightly, glad that nothing had happened to her.

"I'm so sorry Anne. I thought I could trust her," Kireichi apologizes.

"She was sorry about doing it too, but she wanted you to be safe," Anne says. A whole new batch of tears began to threaten Kireichi.

"I know...but she has no idea what kind of monster she is trying to protect," Kireichi says.

"Over here!" Voices shout from within the prison.

"They're coming," Anne says. Sure enough, ninja turned the corner and spotted them.

"Where do we go?" Anne says.

"I don't know," Kireichi says. She just closed her eyes, waiting to be taken.

"What the--" Kireichi's eyes shot open. The ninja weren't coming any closer.

"Why can't I move?!" One says.

"Kireichi, come on!" Kireichi looked behind all the ninja to see Naito. He was holding them with his shadow.

"Its a good thing this is a pretty shady place," Naito says smiling. May and Kiro appeared from around the corner as well.

"What are you waiting for," Kiro says. Immediately Kireichi and Anne are up on their feet. They run past all the paralyzed ninja to join the other three.

"How long can you hold them?" Kireichi asks.

"Not much longer," Naito says beginning to show strain.

"Come on, we'll lead you out of here," May says tugging on Kireichi's arm. Kireichi hesitated.

"Thank you," She says before running out with Anne, Kiro, and May. Kiro kept smiling even as his strength wore away. He was a hero.

* * *

"Where are they!?" Tsunade commands as she takes in the two covered bodies. 

"Gone Hokage-sama," a ninja responds, "This one helped them escape." Naito sat on the ground with his arms tied behind his back. His mother stared at him with horror.

"Naito, why?" She asks. He didn't answer. The hokage sighed.

"What's done is done. Naito will be staying in here for a while. I will not worry about it, we have to plan for sounds arrival. Evacuate everyone who is not of this village." The ninjas did as they were told as Naito was dragged into a cell.

_"I was a hero...wasn't I?"

* * *

_

A week later, Naito still sat in the cell. After the days passed he began to doubt if what he had done was truly right. How long would he be stuck here? Could his parents even face him even more. He had seen the bodies of the guards Kireichi had killed, but still he had helped her. He thought the same things every day as he stared and a random piece of wall, as he was doing now.

"Psst..." Naito took his eyes off the wall.

"Psst..."

"Who's there?" Naito whispers.

"Up here." Naito lifted his face to the window and couldn't believe what he saw.

"What? You thought you could just play hero and us not come back for you."

* * *

"Tsunade-sama" A ninja reported to her office. 

"Yes?"

"Naito Nara is missing from his cell." Tsunade's eyes narrowed.

"Kireichi!"

* * *

There, hope you enjoyed all the drama, but I do have some breaking news. Now, dont freak out, cause I know you will, and before I get a bunch of angry comments I want you to read all that I have to say. This was the last chapter of What We Left Behind, and it was a good one considering, in the original ending, I had Kireichi die. HOWEVER, I'm not stopping. It will be up to you all to keep an eye out for the sequel "What We Want Back." Until then, tell me what you thought of my first completed story, because you know you want to. 

-Iya Kari


	15. Alternate Ending

Must READ first: For the sake of those who want to be untainted.

Ok, you all asked to see the original ending, so here it is. As a warning its TOTALLY out of character. Other things led up to this ending, so don't worry that it'll probably feel like you are missing something. I wrote this back before a lot of things happened with Naruto, but now I know a lot more. ALSO this WAS rated M, FOR GOOD REASON… because I lamely attempted a lemon…BUT I edited it out for that exact reason. So now its just implied. I try to compromise as well as I can, so enjoy!

* * *

**What We Left Behind**

**Alternat Ending**

_"I cant believe Im doing this," _he thought. Sasuke had actually agreed to go. He had dressed in his best black Yukata, and had escorted Kireichi to the day time festivites. They had already been out for two hours, and Kireichi didn't seem to be out of energy yet.

"Are you satisfied yet?" Sasuke asks following the young enthusiastic girl along Konoha's great wall.

"Nope," Kireichi replies simply. People on the street watched as Sasuke scuttled after her, laughing at the adorable sight. Then Kireichi stopped.

"Whats wrong?" Sasuke says, staring at her.

"Somethings coming...," Kireichi says," get away from the wall!" People just stare at her. Then the ground begins to rumble. Suddenly an explosion rocks the ground. People cough and scream as dust and debri fill the area.

"Whats going on?" Kireichi says losing sight of Sasuke. Finally someone answers, but its not what she expects.

"Watch the foolssss run," Says a serpent like voice. Kireichi almost freezes in her tracks at the familiar voice. She turns around as the dust begins to settle. It reveals a large chunk of the Konoha well destroyed. Entering through the large space is a large purple snake being ridden by none other than Orochimaru. As more and more people saw him, screams became louder and the crowd turned into a panic. Orochimaru just laughed.

"No need to run. Not today at least. Im only here today for my dear daughter," He said taking notice of Sasuke, "Well, well, I never expected you to come back to your village, Sasuke." Sasuke didn't respond, just glared at the snake man.

"I'd love to stay and chat, Sasuke-kun, but Im afraid my visit will be short," He says taunting. As if on cue, sound ninjas push through the crowd holding a young girl. She was screaming, struggling to be released from the nins grasp. Then when she was presented in front of Orochimaru and in front of the now still crowd, her eyes widened with fear. Kireichi watched concerned. Sasuke took no notice of it as he was still observing Orochimaru.

"Well, that wasss quick," Orochimaru sighs," How boring. Change of plans, search out the Uchiha child as well. Take all children with black eyes. We'll figure it out from there. The one whos been hiding Anaco from me for so long, should not go unpunished." The girl Anaco immediately began yelling,

" No, you have me, leave her alone."

_"Anne," _Kireichi thought worried. Sakura, who had been looking for Kireichi, had made her way to the front of the crowd. She had heard what Orochimaru said and she immediately came to a realization.

_"Uchiha child, does he mean...,"_ She thought finally seeing Kireichi safe at the other side of the crowd, by no other than..._"Sasuke?"_

Orochimaru chuckled, "I see, so its female. Well then, take all female children with black hair, there must be black eyes on one of them." Anaco immediately wanted to kick herself for giving him more information. All would be well though, because the only other piece of information he had, would be useless to him. After all, the Uchiha child didn't have black eyes. The sound nins had gone through the crowd and presented various girls with black eyes. All with different eye colors, but nothing close to black, not even gray.

"Hmm," Orochimaru says examining the girls. The other sound nin were busy holding back the parents of the three girls they had taken.

"Give them back,"Orochimaru finally stated,"None of them are her."

"How can you tell Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asks amused at the situation.

"None of them were the right age, they are too young. Plus, they all look weak, and I hear the Uchiha child is a top ninja not to mention a genius,"Orochimaru replies. Everyone knew not to look at Kireichi. They may have scorned her, but they valued her just as much. Kireichi began reaching for a kunai she hid in her obi, but stopped with a look from Anaco. Kireichi knew why she had been stopped. Anaco didn't care if she was taken. All she cared about, was that Kireichi was unharmed. She owed her so much, she didn't want to burden her anymore.

"If you're looking for the Uchiha girl, she isn't here," Says the Hokage stepping out of the crowd.

"Oh really," Orochimaru says amusingly.

"Yes," Tsunade continues seriously," She hasn't been here for the past 10 years. Her adoptive parents moved away when she was 3. I'd assume she left your daughter here and fled for her own safety. Uchiha's are selfish that way, after all."

"Perhapsss," Orochimaru contemplated. Kireichi was glaring at the Hokage.

_"What the hell is she doing?!" _Kireichi thought angrily. It was obvious that the hokage wanted nothing to do with Anaco, and would therefore willingly give her up. She didn't see that Anaco didn't deserve to be Orochimarus kin, much less his child. She was just as selfish, only caring about the safety of herself and the village. However, Kireichi wasn't like that. Eventhough, the hokage was trying to protect her from being found, she didn't want it. Kireichi didn't want the protection of the hokage or the sympathy of the village. She just wanted the safety and happiness of her friend, her only friend here. Kireichi had made up her mind.

"Very well," Orochimaru says, his snake turning to leave,"I'll take my leave with what I came for." The sound ninjas had grabbed Anaco again and had began to follow their leader. Kireichi wasn't going to wait anymore. She used her kunai to cut off her kimono, revealing her ninja clothes underneath. She lifted her leg and brought it down forcefully with super human strength, causing the ground to crack straight towards the sound ninjas. They were knocked off balance and released Anaco. Sasuke as well as Sakura were dumbfounded. They had never actually seen Kireichi's power, and they had no idea why she had done what she did. In a flash Kireichi had disappeared and reappeared grabbing Anaco. Then she disappeared a second time, appearing again in front of the crowd, in between the distance from Sasuke and Sakura. Unfortunately Orochimaru turned around in time to see what was going on. His mind came to the only conclusion.

"Her," He hissed angrily. Kireichi quickly begins drawing a circle around Anaco.

"What are you doing?" Anaco cries, "You shouldn't have..."

"Shut up!"Kireichi demands, "Im transporting you to a friend. His name is Sai, tell him I sent you. He'll take care of you, he's done it for me numerous times." Anaco was still so confused, and Kireichi was running out of time. She hurriedly did the hand seals and touched her foot to the inside of the circle. Suddenly the area in which Anaco stood turned to liquid. She sunk down disappearing, giving one last hurtful glance to Kireichi. Orochimaru in a fury came rushing from his snake, holding a Katana. Kireichi who had been paying attention to her jutsu, was caught off guard as Orochimaru appeared in front of her.

"AAHHHHH," She screams as Orochimaru's sword stabs through her shoulder.

"So you're her," Orochimaru chuckles," Hokage-sama, you lied." Tsunade stood unpassive for the sake of the village, she had tried, there was nothing more she could do.

"But I undestand where I went wrong. You dont have black eyes, do you, Uchiha child? You have green eyes." The truth hit sasuke and sakura at 1000 miles per hour.

_"Kireichi is.." _They both thought. Kireichi, even with the sword through her shoulder, showed no signs of weakness.

"Why do you keep my daughter from me?" Orochimaru asks in an annoyed tone.

"Because," Kireichi seeths," Anne doesn't deserve the life she was born into. Shes a good kid, and shouldn't have to suffer your destruction." Orochimaru smiles twisting the sword, causing Kireichi to flinch with pain.

"Anne? So you've given my child a nickname. You two must be very close.Your a fool of a child," He says amused, "Too bad you wont live to become any smarter!" And with that Orochimaru pulls the sword out and swiftly buries it in Kireichi's gut. There are gasps through out the cloud. Naito watching with his parents is horrified.

_"I hated her,but...I never wanted this to happen,"_ he thought a tear escaping his attention. Kireichi was wide eyed, still in shock, as Orochimaru finally removed the sword and walked casually back to his snake. Kireichi fell forward to the ground, clutching her gut that was bleeding tremendously. Everyone else was in shock as well, none of them could move. Orochimaru called to the sound ninjas as his snake turned once more to leave. Kabuto was laughing as they departed disappearing into the foliage outside the village. Tsunade quickly shouted for a medic and in a poof one appeared. Kireichi was breathing heavily. Pain was racking her body. Sasuke and Sakura stepped a bit closer in Kireichi's direction. They stopped and looked at eachother, but just as quickly turned away back to Kireichi's motionless body. Tsunade walked up to the medic tending to Kireichi.

"How bad is it?" She asks. The medic looks at the hokage with concern. She carefully takes Kireichi's body and turns her over revealing her wound. The hokage nearly gags. Who knew that one simple sword thrust could leave such a terrible wound. Tsunade looks at the medic once more catching the sadness in her eyes. Kireichi's breathing is becoming shallow. Sakura still standing a few feet away feels a sudden stinging in her eyes.

_"I cant cry,"_ she though, _"I promised...Kireichi." _Tsunade knew there was nothing they could do. The wound was too open, and too much blood had already been lost. Kireichi was laying in her own puddle of it.The profuse bleeding was even enough to make the hokage turn away. Tsunade turned around and walked a few steps. She motioned for Sasuke and Sakura to come to her. The hesitantly both did.

"Is she going to be ok?" They both blurted out, staring at eachother awkwardly. Turning back to the Hokage, her answer was barely audible.

"No," She says quietly, "She's...we can't..." Her words shocked Sasuke and Sakura. Though Tsunade was near tears herself, she opted to keep going.

"Listen, Sasuke and Sakura," She continues, "She doesn't have much time left. And, Im sure it would mean a lot to her if she knew, you know...before she's gone." Sakura nodded first, followed by Sasuke. They both walked over to Kireichi, Sakura kneeled beside her where the medic had been, not caring about the blood she'd get on her clothes. Sasuke stood on her other side, looking down at her.

"Sakura...Sasuke..."Kireichi says weakly. Sakura takes Kireichi's hand running her thumb over it soothingly.

"Yeah, Kir, its us," Sakura says giving a small smile, tears streaming down her face, "We need to tell you something." Kireichi stared at them both awaiting what they had to say. Niether of them said anything, it hurt too much seeing Kireichi like this. The girl who they took into their houses and their hearts, just to find out that she was...

"Kireichi," The hokage says, deciding to speak, "Sasuke and Sakura...They're your real parents."

"You can hate us if you want," Sakura breaks in turning away, "I'd understand." However, when she turns back Kireichi's look isn't one of hurt.

"How could I ever hate you?" She says, "You both came back to me in the end." The meaning of her words made Sakura cry even more. She admitted it to herself, she loved Kireichi, with or without her being her daughter. Sasuke stood there, but anyone could see he had sadness in his eyes.

"Sasuke..."Kireichi says.

"Yes," He responds quietly.

"Sorry, I wont be there to take care of junior" she says sincerely, "I guess I wasn't strong enough to hold up my end of the bargain." Sasuke suddenly feels stinging in his own eyes. Something unfamiliar to him, he hadn't cried in so long.

"You did a fine job of taking care of yourself" He says meaning it. Kireichi smiles.

"Thank you...both...," She says finally, eyes closing.

"No!" Sakura cries still holding Kireichi's hand. One small drop falls near Sasuke's foot. One tear he was willing to shed. Other medic ninja's arrive, carefully gathering up Kireichi's body slipping her hand away from Sakura and carrying her through the crowd which immediately cleared a path. Sakura couldn't move, she was crying so hard.

_"She had been through so much, all of it was our fault, but she never once blamed us," _She thought to herself. Sasuke wouldn't move either. He was overcome with an unfamiliar feeling: guilt.

"I...," Sakura says in between sobs grabbing Sasuke's attention, "I may not know what you think, but I know that I have a lot of regrets..." She pauses for a second "But," she continues," My greatest regret now, is that I ever regretted having her." Sasuke looks at her sympathetically, unable to see her face because of her hanging bangs.

"And I'll be damned if Orochimaru is going to get away with it," Sakura says angrily punching her fist in the ground causing a small crater to form,"He took my baby, and Im going to kill him for it!" With that she stood up and walked away, back to her house, hair still obscuring the view of her face. Sasuke watched her walk away, before deciding to head home himself. He stopped briefly seeing Kireichi's kimono laying forgotten on the ground. He picks it up gently, folds it and heads home.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day was the funeral. Not many came. Many were so ashamed at how they had treated her, that they decided they were unwelcome. However, some of the most unlikely ones came. All of the rookie nine came, and as much as they had thought it'd be best they leave they're children all at home, they're kids had insisted that they come. Kireichi, after all, was their fallen comrade. Suprisingly, Naito had insisted on coming the most. After the incident, he had really thought about it. He had come to the conclusion that he never really hated Kireichi. It was just his way of acting tough around her, for another reason.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The ceremony was short, and as soon as it was over, Sakura had gone straight to the Hokage.

"Please allow me to have this personal mission!" Sakura says slamming her fist on Tsunade's desk.

"No, Sakura!"Tsunade replies angrily, "Its over and done with, we cant risk Orochimaru turning against us any time soon!"

"You dont know what its like to lose a child!" Sakura says raising her voice.

"Yes, I do!" Tsunade says now with sadness in her eyes. Sakura stares at her in disbelief.

"Tsunade-sama?" She says shocked.

"And my case was worse than yours, Sakura. I had a child once, and a husband, before you were born. My daughter only lived until she was ten. And I, unlike you, had been with her for her whole life. However, a threat came to the village. My husband and daughter were taken hostage, threatened to be killed if the village didn't do as commanded. I, of course, had to choose the village as priority. My family was killed, but the village thrived. Then when you came along, you reminded me so much of her, that I decided to replace her with you, treat you like you were my daughter."

"I dont believe you!" Sakura says disgusted. Tsunade turns to see the rage on her former students face.

"You think you had it worse than me, but you didn't, Tsunade-sama," Sakura nearly yells,"In the few weeks I got to know my daughter, I loved her more than you ever did your's. You willingly sentenced her to death. I'd never do that, not in a million years. Screw the village, its not as precious to me as my own child. And the fact that you replaced her with me. Mothers dont just replace their child with another. Its not the same. You cant be called a human being much less a mother if you do that! So dont you dare say you've had it worse than me!" Sakura was more than willing to keep going, but Tsunade interjected.

"So you mean it?" She asks simply confusing Sakura.

"With all of my heart," Sakura replies.

"Then you pass," Tsunade says.

"Pass?" Sakura says more confused than ever. Tsunade turns smilling.

"Sakura, you're crazy if you think I've ever had time for a husband and child," Tsunade says in a pityful voice.

"So you mean..." Sakura says starting to understand.

"Yes, I've never had a child, nor a husband. I just need to see if you could catch the bad parts about me being a mother, which you did, so you pass. You really do feel strongly over what happened," Tsunade snickers.

"WHAT!?" Sakura yells, angrier than ever, "You mean you lied to me! You made me feel sorry for you!I outta..."

"Im giving you a chance aren't I," Tsunade interrupts making Sakura quiet, "Now that I have your attention. I'll allow you to go on your personal mission." Sakura was ecstatic.

"However," Tsunade continues," You must find a willing volunteer to accompany you. That means you cant tempt Naruto with ramen and you cant threaten to burn Kakashi's Icha Icha Paradise book." Sakura's hopes were crushed.

"Where am I supposed to find someone strong or stupid enough to go against Orochimaru," Sakura whined.

"I dont know," Tsunade says turning back to paperwork," I'll put the word out that you're looking for a volunteer. If there is no one willing, then Im afraid I cant let you go. Now, If you dont mind, I need to do some paperwork." Sakura walks, defeated, to the door.

"Yeah, right, you'll probably start doing puzzles once Im gone," She mumbles.

"I heard that," Tsunade says as Sakura walks out. And sure enough Once Sakura is gone, Tsunade pulls out a Sudoku puzzle from under her desk.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura had been laying on her bed, the rest of the day. She didn't feel the need to eat, to talk to anyone, not even to move. She'd look around her room and see phantoms of memories. She saw Kireichi walking in with breakfast. And then Sakura would blink, and she'd be gone. All the happy memories were gone, and no more would ever come. Sometimes she can't help but think if it could have been prevented. If Sakura could have went on living happily with her daughter. Even if it was only every other day, since she recently realized the other days, Kireichi had been staying at Sasuke's. Hell, she'd even think if it could have worked out in the beginning. Her, Sasuke, and Kireichi, all as a family. However, in that case Kireichi most likely wouldn't have been "Kireichi." She would have been something like "Mika" or "Hitomi".

"Who am I kidding, no one's going to volunteer," She says quietly to herself, "However, I wont let this go. That means, I'm going to have to become a missing nin. And frankly I dont care." She smiled thinking about it.

"Is this what Sasuke felt?" She says curiously,"Did he feel like he had no other option. That he had to do this first before anything else? I guess I'll never know how he feels..." Sakura pushed herself of the bed, looking out the window at the darkened sky.

"I guess I should get going," She sighs reaching for her backpack beside the bed. She walked over to the closet to grab a spare set of clothes. Otherwise, she packed 1 blanket, a pack of beef jerky, and more kunai and shuriken than usual. She swung it over her shoulder and left the room. She walked down the stairs and towards the front door. Before even reaching for the handle she took one last glance at her house.

"Will this be the last time Im ever home? Will I ever come back?" Sakura smiled sadly,"I know that doing this, I might be joining Kireichi soon, but I'd look forward to it." Slowly she turned to finally leave, but as soon as she opened the door she was met with someone on her doorstep.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Sasuke?What are you doing here?" Sakura asks, rather annoyed that he was stopping her.

"The hokage told me to keep an eye on you. She figured you were going to run away and become a missing nin. Looks like she was right," He says not moving.

"Is that so?" Sakura says attempting to leave, but Sasuke blocks her," Im just getting fresh air."

"Thats not what you're backpack says," He smirks.

"I'm not going to let you stop me. Just like you didn't let me stop you," She retorts with malice.

"Theres a difference. You didn't have the power to stop me. However, I have the power to stop you," He says expression unchanging. Sakura didn't have time for this. she walks back inside closing the door. She makes a b-line for the back door through the living room. She closes her eyes complimenting her brilliance as she walks out the back only to run into something.

"Just go back inside and stay there," Sasuke says as Sakura opens her eyes to see him.

"Sasuke stop it, you dont know how it feels!" Sakura says trying to make her way around him, but his wide arms are stopping her from going anywhere.

"How it feels to be a woman? Of course not..." Sakura was shocked.

"Sasuke...did you just make a joke?" She says staring at him. Sasuke just turns away. Kireichi had gotten to him. She made him joke, damnit! Sakura took this as her chance, she dodged around his arm attempting to get away, but Sasuke stopped. He grabbed her with both his arms, holding her firmly against his chest. It strangely felt familiar.

"Let me go,"Sakura cries pounding on Sasuke's chest," I have to do this, for Kireichi. And if I die, I dont care, atleast I'll be with her and away from YOU!" Sakura finally breaks away and makes a run for it. Sasuke still stops her. He grabs her by the wrist, pulling her back around. Only this time he didn't taunt her with some smart ass remark. This time he forced his lips down upon her's. Sakura, wide eyed, waited for the kiss to subside, but Sasuke was having a damn good time doing this and didn't want to stop. Finally she's able to push him away, but she couldn't seem to think rationally enough to try to run again.

"What the hell was that for?!"She nearly yells at him.

"It stopped you didn't it?" Sasuke smirks. Sakura had begun crying, making Sasuke feel a tinge of guilt.

"Why do you always do this?" She sobs, "You always tease me. And then when I would think it meant something, you'd just be cruel about it. Now, I admit I loved Kireichi. She made me happy. She was the part of you that didn't tease me, wasn't cruel to me. I would have loved to have that happiness sooner, if it wasn't for you again. You teased me by getting me pregnant, then you were cruel about it. You want to know the truth? Im afraid of you. You do nothing but hurt me. If I had known the kind of person Kireichi would have become, I would have never left her! I would have raised her myself! The only reason I did give her up is because I was afraid...afraid she'd be just like you!" Sakura ran back inside, not having the strength to run away anymore. She made it to her room and threw herself on the bed. The tears wouldn't stop now. She had spilled everything to him. She wasn't looking for a specific reaction, she just thought he should know. It didn't mean she blamed Kireichi's death on Sasuke, no, she blamed it on herself. If she had raised Kireichi, She would have known about Anaco. She could have thought of a better plan to protect them both. Kireichi could have lived, If Sakura hadn't been so afraid of Sasuke. There was a light knock on the frame of her door.

"I brought you some water," Sasuke says inviting himself in.

"Oh, great, more water to fuel the endless tears," Sakura says sarcastically,"Im not going, anywhere, so just leave me the hell alone." Sasuke walks to her bed reaching for her shoulder to turn her over. She flinches away from him. She was letting it all show now. She was truly afraid of him. He'd been hated, liked, considered dangerous, and even ignored, but no one's ever been afraid of him like this. It made him feel...hurt.

"Sakura, just drink the water," Sasuke says deciding not to touch her. She didn't answer, she just layed there unmoving.

"Drink the water and I'll leave you alone," Sasuke finally bargains. Sakura moves slightly.

"You promise?" She asks. Sasuke hesitates.

"I promise," he says finally. With that she gets up grabs the glass of water and chugs it. She puts the glass down and points to Sasuke.

"There, now leave," she says. Sasuke just sits there.

"You promised, Leave!"she repeats.

"Sakura?"

"What?"She responds beginning to get drowsy.

"I just thought you should know."

Sakure is starting to sway, eyelids closing.

_"Shit, It was spiked water,"_ She thought.

"I was crossing my fingers when I made that promise," He finishes. Sakura cant keep herself up any more, she was too sleepy.

Her last thought before falling on the bed unconcious was, _"Bastard..."_

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Sakura woke up with a killer headache. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought she hit the bed post when she fell unconcious. She looked out the window to see that it was night again already. Or maybe she hadn't even slept through the first night. She looked down at herself to see she was in her PJs.

"I dont remember wearing these..." She says rubbing her eyes. Suddenly realization struck her.

"Sasuke!" She seeths. Immediately she's up from bed and searching for the man. He wasn't in any of the extra bedrooms, or the bathroom, not that she would check if he was. She quietly walked down the stairs and found what she was looking for. She saw a tuft of black hair sticking out from the couch. Of course, with the couch's back facing her, she had to walk closer for a better look. Sure enough, there was Sasuke, sound asleep on the couch.

"I could run, hes not paying attention," Sakura thought,"but thats the cowards way to go. Im going to get him back for what he did." Sakura balled up her fist.

"Bastard!," She yelled punching right in the side of the face.

"What the hell?" Sasuke says, roused from sleep. He's holding his jaw as Sakura moves to hit him again. However, Sasuke grabs her with his other hand pulling her over the couch and rolling on top of her.

"Get off me!" Sakura says struggling.

"Not until you calm down," Sasuke says still massaging his jaw.

"Calm down?! How can I calm down?! You spike my water, lie about leaving, and change my clothes?! How is a girl supposed..." She was cut off. Sasuke's lips came crashing down on hers. It hurt briefly and would most likely bruise her lips. When he pulled away, Sakura was amazingly calm.

"Sasuke...you're teasing me again," Sakura says, wanting to cry. Sasuke hesitates for a second before speaking again.

"No," he says," This time I mean it." Sakura's eyes widen as Sasuke kisses her again. This time more tenderly than forcefully. Sakura can't do much more than to give in. The next set of events were like a dream to Sakura. Sasuke had picked her up, bridal style, and carried her up the stairs to her room.

"Sasuke,"She whispers,"I want her back." Sasuke wraps his arms around her, holding her to his chest.

"I do too," he says quietly before they both doze off to sleep.

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Sakura woke up reaching for another warm body. She didn't find one. Her eyes shot open, Sasuke was gone.

"I knew it, he lied again!" Sakura says tears welling up in her eyes.

"Looking for me?"

Sakura turned to the door way to see Sasuke dressed in a robe.

"I thought..." Sakura pauses.

"That I was gone?" Sasuke finishes. Sakura slowly nodded her head. Sasuke smiles and takes a few steps in the room.

"Im not going to run anymore, Sakura," he says grabbing her attention, "but I want to know something first. When was they last time you were with a man?"

"Why does that matter?!" Sakura says turning away blushing. It gave sasuke his answer.

"You mean...all the way back then?" He asks. Sakura glares at him.

"Well I guess I didn't like doing it with you that I never did it with any other man since," she spat. Sasuke smirks.

"But you must have liked it, or else you wouldn't have done it again with me," He says sitting on the edge of the bed. Sakura was speechless, he had caught her.

"Why is it important again?" Sakura says prodding him.

"Just curious..." Sasuke shrugs it off. Sakura's not convinced.

"Just curious my ass!" Sakura says crossing her arms.

"Sakura," Sasuke says suddenly serious, "I want you to know something." Sakura stares at him confused.

"What is it?" She says comforting.

"You said before, that you had a lot of regrets. I admit, so do I. And now the greatest regret I have is that I wasn't there for her. I could have been there to protect her from all the harmful things in her childhood. Sakura the truth is, I left you and Kireichi because I was...afraid. Itachi was still alive, and I was afraid that if I had a family, he'd kill you, just as he did my family before, just to harm me. I didn't want that, so I walked away," Sasuke says with sadness. Sakura had begun crying.

_"Does this mean...Sasuke...he cared about me all along..." _Sakura thought looking at the man infront of her. And even after all these years, she still loved him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura says, lunging forward to hug him. She knew she was crying hard now. Only, this time Sasuke held her for comfort and not for restraint.

"You should get ready," Sasuke says into her hair.

"For what?" Sakura says looking up at him.

"We're going to the hokage's, you have your volunteer," Sasuke says releasing her. Sakura smiles through all her tears.

"Sasuke...thank you!" she says hugging him once more.

"She was my daughter too," he says standing up with Sakura,"And no one gets away with killing my family." Sakura was all smiles. Her tears had stopped. Kireichi had been life changing, for the good. She quickly grabbed her pack from the other day, getting dressed as well. Sasuke got dressed in presentable clothes himself and waited for her. Then they both headed out the front door, with one thought on their mind.

_"Revenge..."_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

When Sasuke and Sakura walked into the hokage's office, it sounded like traffic.

"Sakura!"Tsunade yelled over everyone,"We have a problem."

"Tsunade-sama, whats going on?" Sakura asks looking at everyone. "You have more than one volunteer," Tsunade says annoyed. Sakura was shocked. The whole rookie 9 were there, as well as Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai, and even Jiraiya. Everyone looked over and stared at Sakura. Looks like they all wanted a piece of Orochimaru.

"Sakura-chan, take me," Naruto says first.

"Like hell, Im her best friend, Im going," Ino says after him.

"This is a job for a man, niether of you are going, I'll go," Shikamaru says as well.

"What are you talking about?!" Naruto yells,"Im a man!"

"You wish," Shikamaru replies.

"Im her former sensei, I should go," Kakashi says from behind his beloved book.

"You cant sniff things out like Akamaru and me, so I should go," Kiba chimes in. They all began arguing, and it was quite frankly, annoying.

"EVERYONE JUST STOP!"Sakura yells angrily. They all go dead silent.

"Good," Sakura continues," Im sorry, but Im taking Sasuke."

"WHAT?!" They all yell.

"Sakura, you'd take the Teme over me?!" Naruto whines.

"You trust HIM more than your best friend?!"Ino says.

"I have a way to make this a little more bearable," the Hokage announces," Sakura you are now going on a 6 person team." Suddenly all the pressure was on Sakura. Everyone was looking at her intently, waiting for her decision. "Choose your comrades wisely," Tsuande continues concentrating on a puzzle to relieve the stress. Sakura suddenly felt a lump in her throat, but she swallowed and made up her mind.

"I choose my team, cell 7, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke," She says continuing to think.

"Alright, who else?" Tsunade says while Naruto does a victory dance.

"Um..."Sakura says thinking,"Kiba for Akamaru's nose, and...Shikamaru for tactics and leadership." Tsunade nodded her head in agreement. All the ones not chosen, whined.

"Sakura, why cant I go?"Ino says hurt. Sakura already knew her answer.

"Ino, you need to stay for Naito. He needs you," She says giving her friend a quick hug. Ino thought about it and then gave a nod, understanding.

"Yeah, you could be pregnant again too," Shikamaru says earning a punch to the head from his beloved wife.

"Alright, everyone leave except those chosen for the mission," Tsunade says, finally able to rid herself of all the people. All the non chosen ones began to leave.

"You take care of yourself, Sakura," Ino says before turning to Sasuke," And, Uchiha, If you hurt her, I swear I'll have you nuetered!" Sasuke took the threat seriously as Ino headed for the door. It was then that she realized she had overlooked someone.

"Shikamaru, try not to die, ok honey?," She says finally leaving. The door shuts behind her and the 6 person team is left alone with the hokage.

"Alright then," Tsunade sighs," Sakura, Sasuke, are you sure you want to do this?"

Sakura thinks about it long and hard before slowly nodding and saying,"Yes, Tsunade-sama, we realize now what we left behind and we want it back."

* * *

And that led straight into a sequel...However, now that Kireichi is living, I'm still working on a sequel (Which is giving me a lot of grief) but, for all of you SasuSaku fans out there, I'm thinking of doing a short story in between What We Left Behind and its sequel, because some of you wanted that fluff! But, Like I said, everything is still in production. I just hope you guys hang with me.

Until I resurface again,

Iya Kari


	16. Sequel Update

**Author's note**

I've finally resurfaced, and as such, I have good news. The Sequel to What We Left Behind has begun. Catch the first chapter of What We Want Back in my author's profile. But before that, if you read this, you are now rewarded with a longer summary for the sequel that I have not written anywhere else. Enjoy:

After the children left, some of Konoha's strongest have changed for the worst. Tsunade is bold enough to make a promise to Sakura though, that Kireichi will be back by the end of the year. Sakura takes it upon herself to renew hope in the others and try to retrieve their children. It's not all fun and games though. They find they have an enemy that the children have been holding off this entire time. Not to mention, Kireichi has a darker past then any of them have ever know. Now all of them have to fight for what they want back both against their enemies and their friends.

-Iya Kari


End file.
